NEWARK — Licking County’s computer network will remain down through at least the end of the week as technicians continue to deal with what local officials are calling a cyberattack.

A ransomware virus has infected the county’s network, and county websites, phones and computers have been taken offline, said Sean Grady, Emergency Management Agency director. The ransomware hits a network with a virus that encrypts the system and holds its information hostage until a ransom is paid, he said.

Officials wouldn’t disclose the amount of the ransom demand, but “it’s not an insignificant amount of money,” Commissioner Tim Bubb said.

County offices were open Wednesday, but phone and computer systems were turned off while repairs were being made and the situation was evaluated.

Licking County's 911 dispatch is not affected by the cyberattack.

The county is working with its cyber insurance company and cybersecurity experts, and trying to build its system from backups. Cots were brought in Wednesday so technicians could continue to work on the problem, Bubb said during a Wednesday briefing to more than 40 county officials and employees.

“They have a war room set up,” he said. “They’re going to stay here 24/7 right through the weekend to fix this.”

Officials will consult with the cyber insurance company to determine whether the county would pay the ransom, Bubb said.

“Obviously we have to concur, but generally speaking, they deal with this all the time, so we’re going to be very thoughtful about whatever they recommend,” he said.

The county has also been in contact with the Ohio EMA, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and FBI.

“You’re dealing with criminals,” Bubb said of the ransomware attack. “It’s a criminal attack on the people of Licking County and their government to make money.”

The problem was first detected Tuesday around 8 or 9 p.m., officials said. Information technology staff quickly shut down all nonessential servers once the virus was detected to preserve county data and keep the problem from spreading.

It's unclear where the virus came from. When computer forensics are completed, technicians may eventually be able to trace the source, but that could take weeks, Grady said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there was no evidence of a data breach or that employees’ personal information had been compromised, Bubb said.

jsmola@dispatch.com

@jennsmola