Fulton County government systems still down due to cyberattack

Many Fulton government systems in addition to the library’s public computers remained down following the weekend’s cyberattack. Phones at county offices are out and several offices — including elections, the tax commissioner, Superior Court clerk, county service centers and Probate Court service centers — are all closed.

Only satellite offices for license tag renewals are open, said county spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt. Tags can also be renewed at the automated kiosks in various locations. Courts are operating with “backup processes,” but online public functions aren’t working.

Matt Coggin is hoping he’s close to securing a liquor license for the Roswell Road location of his DBA Barbecue.

“I’m supposed to go before the liquor review board Monday or Tuesday,” said Coggin, who’s been following coverage of Fulton County’s digital woes. “I’m scared, but I’m going to keep my fingers crossed. We’re kind of near the end.”

DBA already operates a Virginia-Highland location and Coggin is hopeful the tech wreck will be over quickly.

“I’m optimistic this will all be cleared up soon,” he said. “I’m feeling lucky.”

Few details have been released about the attack. Many county offices were closed Monday, when County Commission Chair Robb Pitts confirmed there had been a “cybersecurity incident” over the weekend. He said he didn’t know when county functions would be restored.

“At this time we are not aware of any transfer of sensitive information about Fulton County citizens or employees,” Pitts said.

Law enforcement is investigating, and county officials don’t expect to release much more information while that continues.

The lack of details released so far makes it hard to tell the scope and effects of the attack, said cybersecurity expert Brendan Saltaformaggio, associate professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Cybersecurity & Privacy.

“I really would encourage Fulton to get that information out to the public as quickly as they can,” he said.

What stands out to Saltaformaggio so far is the “big spread of systems” that were affected. That could be due to one very broad-based attack or several small ones,…