Murray County Pays $200,000 Ransom Following Cyberattack That Disrupted County Services

MURRAY COUNTY, Ga. — Murray County officials paid $200,000 to ransomware attackers following a cyberattack that disrupted multiple county government systems and forced several offices to close, according to county leadership.

The cyberattack occurred on May 13 and impacted network operations across several county departments, resulting in limited functionality throughout county government.

In a statement provided to the media, Sole Commissioner Noah Bishop said the county made the decision to pay the ransom after consulting with cybersecurity experts.

“[W]e made the difficult decision to pay a $200,000 fee because we believed it was the necessary approach to best serve the interests of County residents and employees,” Bishop said. “We felt strongly that this was necessary to prevent the publication of County data and give some peace of mind to our residents.”

County officials said the decision was made with guidance from a team of nationally recognized third-party cybersecurity and data forensic consultants.

The cyberattack caused significant disruptions to county operations. In the days following the incident, the Murray County Tax Commissioner’s Office, Tax Assessor’s Office, Probate Court and Juvenile Court were forced to close while officials worked to restore network systems.

Other county offices remained open but operated with limited capabilities.

Despite the disruption, county officials emphasized that emergency services were not affected. First responders, public safety operations and 911 communications remained fully operational throughout the incident. Voting operations also continued as scheduled.

County leaders have not released additional details regarding the nature of the attack, the group responsible or whether any county data was ultimately compromised. Officials said the ransom payment was intended to prevent the publication of county information and help protect residents and employees from potential exposure of sensitive data.

Efforts to fully restore county systems and strengthen cybersecurity protections remain ongoing.