News

County seeing progress in restoring websites, phone access after cybersecurity hit

by Geoff Fox

Washington County is seeing progress in restoring county systems after a cybersecurity incident on November 24.

The Town of Hancock office was not affected by the incident, but the Hancock Police Department has had to change how they log response calls.

On Monday, when asked if there was a police report from last week, Sgt. Rich Miller said in a text message to The Hancock News that the reporting system was down, but the department is manually logging events.

Even though the town offices and site were not affected, town officials are monitoring the situation.

As for Washington County, its top priority continues to be ensuring the community members are safe and can access county government services they rely on.

Due to the ongoing investigation, county officials haven’t provided specific details about the nature of the cybersecurity incident.

The county’s focus, right now, will continue to be getting the county systems and services up and running as safely and quickly as possible, said officials.

Additional web pages are being added to the temporary Washington County website (https://washcomd.net/) daily. The pages provide residents with information on how different divisions and departments are operating and providing services.

Vendors now have the ability to view and download open bids by going to the Purchasing Department’s temporary page (https://washco-md.net/ purchasing).

The main number at the Office of the State’s Attorney is still down as of last Friday. The county provided a new number for that office, should anyone need to contact the office.

To reach the State’s Attorney Office, call 240-313-2024.

Citizens can now view and apply for Washington County Government job openings through the website at https://washco-md.net/jobs.

The Division of Permits and Inspections is unable to access permit records, process permit applications, and/or issue permits.

Paper applications are available at 747 Northern Avenue, Hagerstown, MD 21742.

Online and IVR inspection requests are also unavailable but anyone needing an inspection can request on by calling the office at 240-313-2460.