12 Investigates: Unanswered questions remain around City of Winston-Salem’s cyberattack

IT HAPPENED BACK ON JUNE 1ST. 12 INVESTIGATES CONTINUES TO SEEK ANSWERS REGARDING THE CYBER ATTACK THAT HEAVILY IMPACTED THE CITY OF WINSTON-SALEM EARLIER THIS YEAR. CHRIS PETERSON HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT OF THIS COVERAGE. HE JOINS US IN STUDIO TONIGHT. SO, CHRIS, YOU’VE BEEN REACHING OUT FOR AN UPDATE. WHAT ARE OFFICIALS TELLING YOU TONIGHT? KRISTINE, TO BE HONEST, NOT A LOT. WE’VE BEEN SEEKING ANSWERS FOR MONTHS ABOUT THIS SITUATION. THAT ALL STARTED THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. WE WERE TOLD THE REPORT WOULD BE MADE AVAILABLE WHEN THE INVESTIGATION WAS COMPLETE, AND I’VE BEEN ASKING IF THAT REPORT IS READY. JUST HOURS AGO, INSTEAD OF A REPORT, I RECEIVED AN EMAIL RECAPPING THE EVENTS OF THE CYBER ATTACK, INCLUDING WHEN CITY I.T. PERSONNEL NOTICED A PROBLEM. THE CITY TOOK ITS COMPUTER SYSTEMS OFFLINE. PER PROTOCOL, AND LAUNCHED AN INVESTIGATION. AFTER LEARNING OF THE CYBER ATTACK. THIS LED TO PAYROLL ISSUES AND KEPT PEOPLE FROM BEING ABLE TO PAY THEIR BILLS ONLINE. WE KNOW THAT A TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS, WHICH INCLUDED THE NORTH CAROLINA JOINT CYBER SECURITY TASK FORCE, THE NATIONAL GUARD AND THE FBI ARE ALL INVOLVED. THE INVESTIGATION IS ONGOING WITH SUPPORT FROM VARIOUS AGENCIES AND SPECIALISTS. WE WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE PUBLIC INFORMED OF RELEVANT UPDATES AS THE INVESTIGATION PROGRESSES. NOW, WE’RE STILL SEEKING CLARITY ON HOW MUCH THE CYBER ATTACK COST THE CITY. WE STILL DON’T KNOW FULL DETAILS ON HOW THE CYBER ATTACK HAPPENED. AND AGAIN, THAT REPORT THAT WE’VE BEEN SEEKING HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE AVAILABLE. CHRIS, YOU’VE ALSO BEEN LOOKING INTO THE THOMASVILLE CYBER INCIDENT. DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE TO SHARE ON THAT TONIGHT? YEAH, WE KNOW THAT A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS UNDERWAY IN THOMASVILLE. 12 INVESTIGATES HAS BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHICH AGENCIES ARE INVOLVED, AND WE HAVE LEARNED THAT THE SBI IS NOT INVOLVED IN THAT INVESTIGATION. I WANT TO STRESS THAT THE THOMASVILLE CYBER INCIDENT IS NOT IMPACTING PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES SUC