Governor’s office: Some state websites affected in cyber attack

ALABAMA (WHNT) — Governor Kay Ivey’s office says residents may experience issues on some state websites due to a cyber attack that began Tuesday.

According to a news release from the governor’s office Wednesday, some Alabama state government websites may be experiencing issues due to a “denial of service” attack that began Tuesday afternoon.

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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency says a denial of service attack, often appreciated as a DoS attack, happens when regular users are unable to access information systems, devices, or network services due to the actions of a malicious third party. These kinds of attacks normally affect things like email services, websites, or online banking but can affect any service that relies on a computer or network.

The agency said DoS attacks are done by “flooding the targeted host or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or simply crashes, preventing access for legitimate users.”

Gina Maiola, Director of Communications for Governor Ivey’s office said there has been no breach of the state’s computers and no information has been accessed due to the attack.

“In conjunction with the state’s carrier, the Alabama OIT is actively working to mitigate the attack, which may cause some state websites to be slow temporarily,” she said about the attack Wednesday.

News 19 reached out to the governor’s office for more information on the origin of the attack but Jeremy Ward with Alabama’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) said the situation is still under investigation at this time.

“This is an ongoing issue and OIT is unable to respond with exact details as the situation is still in the process of being investigated and resolved,” he said.

This is a developing story and News 19 will provide updates as they become available.

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