Maryland County Confirms Files Stolen in August Attack Claimed by Rhysida Ransomware Gang

Officials in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, have confirmed that an unauthorised actor copied files from government systems during an incident in August. A county spokesperson said "irregular activity" was discovered on August 28, prompting an investigation into a "limited subset of systems" on the county network. Investigators are now reviewing the stolen files to determine whether any of the information relates to residents. The county did not say what data was involved, and it has notified federal law enforcement and other government agencies.

The Rhysida ransomware gang claimed the attack and threatened to leak 2.6 terabytes of documents unless a $2 million ransom was paid. The group has repeatedly targeted governments around the world, with past victims including Kuwait's Finance Ministry, the city of Seattle, the city of Columbus in Ohio and the Maryland transportation department. It recently tried to extort the government of Berlin as well.

The county is also dealing with the aftermath of a separate ransomware attack by a different group last year. It said it planned to send breach notification letters about that earlier incident on October 19, and confirmed the August 28 attack is a "separate incident". The county is home to more than 600,000 residents and to offices of many federal agencies.