By WMBD News
TAZEWELL COUNTY – The Tazewell County’s phone and internet went down in the early hours of Nov. 20. Eight days later, there are still few answers to the problem.
On the morning of Nov. 20, the phone lines stopped working, and shortly after the internet followed suit. County officials had to switch to the old-fashioned method of business, including typing marriage certificates with a typewriter.
County Clerk John Ackerman said petitions for people to file for office, which must be turned in by Monday, are not affected. Candidates can still come in and file paperwork normally.
“None of our tabulators are hooked up to the internet so there is no risk of being contaminated. We don’t have election information on the county’s server networks,” he said.
Tazewell County Sheriff Jeff Lower is labeling the loss of phones and internet as a “cyber incident” to which the FBI has been notified. Not much can be said about the “cyber incident” as it is a current criminal investigation.
As soon as the incident occurred, Tazewell County promptly went offline to avoid any potential compromise. Phone lines are in the works to be back up and running shortly, whereas emails will stay offline until the investigation is no longer active.
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