About 90% of Macon-Bibb website restored after ‘security breach.’ What’s still not working

Macon-Bibb County has restored about 90% of its government website services, almost a week after the network was breached, according to a press release.

Emails and landline phone service were restored earlier this week but some services on the public-facing website were still experiencing issues Friday and several aspects of government operations were still affected, the county said.

The county IT department restored access for people to rent parks and pavilions, and request services using the neighborhood reporting platform SeeClickFix, but online payments involving property taxes, courts and solid waste fees were still experiencing issues Friday.

“As a team, we are being very purposeful and thorough in reviewing our system and checking safeguards so that we can be confident in our connections,” County Manager Keith Moffett said in a news release.

With some of the internet and network still down after the local government experienced a “security breach” on May 11, some county projects have been rescheduled, according to Chris Floore, the county’s chief communications officer.

IT was working to restore county website pages of “top priority” that involve online payments like the tax commissioner’s office, the municipal court system and realty, Floore told The Telegraph.

As of Friday afternoon, people could visit the tax office to transfer vehicle titles and renew tags, but could not submit property tax or solid waste fee payments online or in person.

“The IT Department is steadily restoring internet and web access to public facing sites and to services needed to operate,” Floore said. “There is no timeline when the different components will be back up.”

“Our team members are doing what they can to meet our community’s needs, but there are some things that are not possible until we restore the internet and network,” Moffett said.

The news release called it a “potential cybersecurity incident.”

No other service that uses the Macon-Bibb website was available Friday. This included, but was not limited to, online payments in the court system; and property tax and garage bill payments with the tax commissioner’s office.

The procurement department, which handles project bids and contracts, paused and rescheduled open bids and public questions which were initially scheduled to be posted online this week or next week, Floore told The Telegraph. These dates are being rescheduled to allow equal access to bidding and inquiries on the projects.

“The Procurement Department opens all of the bids at one time, so it’s all a fair process,” Floore said on a phone call. “But if we’ve had our website shut down for five days, companies haven’t been able to access the documents, which means they don’t have the primary information by which to make their bid.”

Opening deadlines for bids which were scheduled this week or next week include traffic signal repairs and maintenance, the landfill wastewater pump system, Rosa Parks Square renovation and lease of land for agricultural use. Public questions and opening bid dates will be rescheduled for Hollingsworth Drive sidewalk improvements, HVAC maintenance and security services.

Dates can’t be confirmed until the county network is fully restored, Floore said.

When county officials noticed “unusual activity on its servers” May 11, they took the network offline out of caution, Floore said. Officials were investigating the issue and adding additional security measures.

“We are not unique in this attack, so we have a roadmap that is helping guide our work and help ensure we are protecting our system,” Moffett said.

“We have been in contact with federal security officials since Saturday for guidance and assistance,” Floore said.

IT is working to implement additional security measures to prevent future potential cybersecurity breaches, he said.

To submit money orders to the courts, officials recommend to call ahead to find out the total and have a money order prepared for the exact amount.

“We want to continue asking for the public’s patience as we continue to restore the affected services and access,” Moffett said.

This story was originally published May 16, 2024 at 10:59 AM.