CLAYTON, N.C. (WPTF) – One Johnston County town is dealing with possible cyber crimes impacting its operations.
The Town of Clayton is investigating what it called “suspicious network activity affecting several of the Town’s online systems. While the investigation remains ongoing, initial findings indicate attempts to access data were unsuccessful.”
Investigators have determined that this did not escalate into a full-blown cybersecurity incident, and there is no evidence that any customer or employee data has been compromised.
In a news release officials said the Town’s Information Systems staff are working alongside the North Carolina Joint Cybersecurity Task Force to assess and restore Town of Clayton systems as securely and efficiently as possible, and progress continues to be made.
The North Carolina Joint Cybersecurity Task Force includes outside experts from the NC National Guard, the NC Local Government Information Systems Association Cybersecurity Strike Team, NC Emergency Management, and the NC Department of Information Technology. The Town has also reported this incident to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.
“Our staff have devoted significant time and effort to responding to this incident, and I am proud of the work they have done alongside our state and local partners,” said Clayton Town Manager Rich Cappola. “While the investigation is ongoing, we are encouraged by the initial findings and by the progress being made to restore systems securely and efficiently. We appreciate the public’s patience and understanding as we continue this work.”
The Town of Clayton Information Services Team flagged suspicious network activity on one of its systems on the morning of Wednesday, March 18. Out of an abundance of caution, the network was manually taken offline to contain the issue and help ensure any criminal actors were fully eradicated from its systems.
“You can’t stop every breach, but you can control how quickly you detect it and what you do next,” said Chief Information Officer John Mack. “Strong alerting and response processes are what turn a potential crisis into a manageable incident. Because of those safeguards, we were able to identify this activity early and have no indication that any sensitive information was compromised.”
The Town is operating under normal business hours, though some services are limited as the investigation continues and systems are restored. For the most up-to-date information, please visit townofclaytonnc.org.