Delaware County is still digging out after what officials are calling a "sophisticated cybercriminal attack" that hit June 26, forcing the county to pull the plug on parts of its network and leaving phones, courthouse operations and library computers hobbled for days. County leaders say internal systems are now back, while outside-facing services are being carefully brought online and checked to see whether any data was accessed. Specialized cybersecurity firms are on the case, helping with both cleanup and the ongoing investigation.
In a July 2 statement, Delaware County said it took the "proactive but necessary step of shutting down our network" after spotting unauthorized activity that started on June 26. The release noted that non-emergency county phone lines are again working and said officials are leaning on industry best practices as they restore services. County communications director Mike Connolly signed the statement and asked residents to hang in there while teams finish running security checks.
Services Disrupted Across the County
The impact rippled across county government. The sheriff's office, district attorney's office, county libraries and county council all saw interruptions, including phone outages and in‑library catalog terminals going dark, according to 6abc. Staff scrambled behind the scenes to keep core services functioning while investigators picked through the systems and decided what to revive first.
County Response and Where to Get Help
Internal networks are now back online and teams are working to restore external-facing systems in the coming days, according to Delaware County. The county has set up a dedicated email and phone line for urgent needs: [email protected] and (610) 891-4943. Officials say essential services will keep running while they double-check that everything on the network is truly locked down.
A Familiar Threat
This is not Delco's first run-in with cybercriminals. In November 2020, the county was hit by a ransomware attack traced back to a phishing email, an incident that cost about $25,000 to resolve. After that breach, officials said they put "substantial protections" in place, measures they credit with helping reduce the scope of this latest intrusion, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Why This Matters Beyond Delco
Federal cybersecurity authorities and industry groups have long warned that state and local governments are favorite targets for ransomware and other digital break-ins, and they regularly publish playbooks for how to respond. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency offers a detailed resource guide and urges local governments to coordinate with outside responders such as the MS‑ISAC to contain and recover from attacks, a strategy many communities now rely on when the alarms start blaring, according to CISA.
