Ransomware group Inc on Friday claimed responsibility for a cyber attack against Waupaca County, Wisconsin. Computer systems for Waupaca County first went down on June 18, and county officials confirmed a ransomware attack on July 3, 2024.
Some critical systems might have been affected but are now back online. Emergency response systems remained operational. Other non-critical systems might still be down as of time of writing. The County says it brought in third-party specialists to investigate the attack and restore systems.
We don’t yet know whether any personal information was compromised during the attack, how much Inc demanded in ransom, or how attackers breached the County’s network. Comparitech contacted Waupaca County officials for comment and will update this article if it responds.
Who is INC?
Inc Ransomware emerged in July 2023 and targets a wide range of victims in healthcare, education, and government. Its methods involve spear phishing and exploiting known vulnerabilities in software such as Citrix NetScaler.
Inc has been confirmed as the culprit behind 34 attacks since it began, affecting 1.17 million individual records. According to our data, 18 of those attacks occurred in 2024. We’ve logged a further 105 unconfirmed attacks claimed by Inc so far this year, four of which were against government organizations.
In the government sector alone, Inc’s other victims include Leicester City Council, UK; Richland, WA; Buckeye, AZ; and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians.
Ransomware attacks on US government
Comparitech has logged 43 confirmed ransomware attacks against US government organizations so far in 2024, affecting 50,757 individual records. This year’s figure looks set to surpass the 77 attacks recorded in 2023. That would make government the only sector to see an increase in attacks this year.
Other recent ransomware victims in the US government include Cedar Falls, IA; Apex, NC; the Alabama Department of Education; and the Florida Department of Health.
We’ve tracked a further 14 unconfirmed ransomware attacks on US government organizations in 2024.
About Waupaca County, WI
Waupaca County, Wisconsin is home to more than 50,000 people and covers about 765 square miles