IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Solano County, Calif., Libraries Online After Cyber Attack

The library system has restored its Wi-Fi network and Internet access to publicly available computers, following a ransomware attack April 5 that disrupted phone lines as well. Mobile printing, however, remains offline.

Children using a computer at a library.
(Shutterstock)
(TNS) — Public computers and Wi-Fi are back up and running at Solano County libraries, more than three months after being knocked out by a ransomware attack.

The countywide library system announced this past week that public computers and Wi-Fi are again available at its 10 branches, though mobile printing is still offline.

While people were still able to check out books from the county libraries after the April 5 cyberattack, phone lines, computer services and Wi-Fi were disrupted.

Libraries provide critical — and free — use of computers and the Internet for people who don't have their own devices or easy access to Wi-Fi.

Solano County has not acknowledged the ransomware attack, but officials in St. Helena — which partners with Solano County's system — said hackers had targeted the network, demanding a $100,000 ransom, and threatening to release data they claimed to have stolen if their demands were not met.

St. Helena library services were not directly impacted because it uses a separate cloud-based system to house library data, and a review by a data services company found no indication that library cardholder data was compromised, city officials said.

Benicia, which has its own library system, also uses the county library network and lost Internet access until it was restored this past week.

Solano County officials have not provided details of any possible impact on user data in the county's library system.

Solano County library officials and the county's spokesperson did not immediately return calls or emails on Friday. It was unclear whether the hackers had been found, if any confidential data has been released or how the library system was able to restore computer and Internet access.

©2024 the San Francisco Chronicle, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.