Oregon’s environmental agency shuts down network after cyberattack

Officials at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) were forced to shut down the organization’s network following a cyberattack on Wednesday. 

The regulatory agency, which regulates the  quality of Oregon's air, land and water, said on Wednesday evening that vehicle inspection stations will be closed through Friday following the cyberattack. 

The agency is in the process of isolating servers and the network “until the attack is totally contained and potentially eradicated.” 

“Oregon DEQ's IT, Enterprise Information Systems, and Microsoft Cybersecurity teams are working together to solve our cybersecurity issues,” the agency said in an update on Wednesday evening. 

“Additionally, DEQ network systems and computers will not be operational. Your DEQ Online, DEQ's environmental data management system, is located on a separate server and is now available.”

The agency urged people to check its website and social media pages for updates on whether vehicle inspection stations will be open on Saturday. 

Officials did not respond to requests for comment about whether they are dealing with a ransomware attack. 

Arizona, Idaho, Nebraska incidents

Other states announced recent cyber incidents impacting critical government services:

• The Federal Public Defender's Office of Arizona has been shut down since last week after suffering a ransomware attack, according to local news outlet KUTV. Several court cases have been rescheduled for May due to the attack. 
• The clerk’s office in Arkansas’ Pulaski County said it had recovered from a cyber incident in January due to a cyber incident.
• Officials in Gooding County, Idaho, said its network was hit with a ransomware attack on March 25. County leaders contacted federal law enforcement and hired cybersecurity firms to help contain the incident. The county,, said it is reviewing the data that was stolen but admitted that it is likely the hackers acquired personal information. 

None of these incidents were claimed by any ransomware gangs or hacker groups as of Thursday. 

The Qilin ransomware group did take credit on Thursday for an attack on Nebraska’s North Platte Natural Resources District, which confirmed in a statement that it dealt with a cyberattack and data breach on November 27.