Several local governments struggling with cyberattacks limiting services

Anne Arundel County (population ~600,000) was hit by a cyberattack announced Feb 23 that has disrupted multiple county services by forcing the shutdown of internet-connected systems; 911/311 remained operational while other services (permits, payments, recycling centers, some customer service centers) were impacted and processed manually. County officials say the incident is of external origin, are investigating with cybersecurity specialists, have not confirmed whether this is ransomware or identified an attacker, and have not provided a full list of affected systems while restoring services.