Local cyberattacks: ‘Old-school mob movies turned digital’

On top of a pandemic that has affected their operations, at least two local public agencies this spring have had to deal with cyberattacks that debilitated their information technology systems for several days and cost them thousands of dollars.

The Champaign-Urbana Public Health District was hit by hackers in early March, knocking out some services for as long as a week. Parkland College was affected in late April and early May, temporarily disrupting online learning and email services. Other services were disturbed for up to 10 days.

Officials at both agencies emphasize that no personal data was taken.