He said a group of hackers on the dark web claimed responsibility and posted screenshots of what appeared to be personal information.
If that proves to be true, Pitts said the county will notify those whose information was exposed and provide services to protect them.
Pitts was flanked by other county employees, who again left without taking questions. The county plans to provide weekly updates on the attacks.
Commissioners held an emergency 90-minute meeting on February 8 to discuss the attack, but it was held almost entirely behind closed doors and adjourned without any public action or questions.
State and federal law enforcement agencies are involved in the investigation, and county officials have cited that process in limiting the details released about the cyberattack. Multiple outside cybersecurity experts previously told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the hack appears to be a ransomware attack.
All courthouses have reopened, but many continue to take workarounds to supplement computer systems that are still down. The attack knocked out the county’s telephone system, which operates over the internet. Internal financial system. Online court and law enforcement system. Tax office. Among other things, public use computers in libraries.
Pitts said Thursday that about a third of the county’s phone lines will be operational again, allowing the county to provide services to customers in person or by phone that are not currently available online. The property tax system still cannot process payments, he said. Customers will also not be able to pay their water bills, but Pitts said they will not be charged late fees or have their connections disconnected during the outage.
County officials denied rumors that the attack was political in nature. Elections Director Nadine Williams said Thursday that there is no evidence the election was specifically targeted, but that the link between the state and county election systems has been severed as a precaution.
That relationship has been restored, and Pitts said the county is ready to begin early voting at 36 sites starting Monday for the March 12 presidential primary.
