The town of Apex in North Carolina suffered a ransomware attack on Thursday that knocked the town network offline. Residents have been unable to pay bills or apply for permits electronically. Municipal employees have resorted to doing tasks manually because of the cybersecurity incident impacting the town.

"Nothing more about the cybercriminals is known at this time, including their demand – and in compliance with North Carolina law, the Town of Apex has not and will not communicate with, negotiate with, nor make payment to those responsible for this incident," said a spokesperson for the township.

According to Intelligence officials, the collection of identifying and billing data is what makes local municipalities susceptible to cyberattacks. Read more about this story on our LinkedIn page