Jefferson County Clerk's Office says all branches 'are up now' after ransomware attack

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- All Jefferson County motor vehicle branches reopened Saturday following a Russian ransomware attack.

On Monday night, the clerk's office announced all branches would be closed, saying simply it was due to an unexpected system outage. Officials later found that the outages were due to a ransomware attack that started around 4 a.m. July 22. All systems were down at branches across Jefferson County after hackers installed the malicious software, locking files and demanding money.

The original plan was for one location to open to the public Friday then four more would follow Saturday.

In an update Saturday, a spokesperson said all branches "are up now including MVPC and Call Center." Hundreds of people had been waiting all week to speak to a county clerk.

"I figured when that outage went out, it was going to be something bigger," said Damon Parker, a Louisville resident.

By Saturday afternoon, all the branches had reopened. It was good news for Parker.

"My vehicle got stolen Monday and my plates got stolen so I would have to ride with no plates on my car," Parker said. I'm grateful they were open today."

Police found Parker's car in Shelbyville on Thursday.

"They were going to cruise in it," Parker said. "Thank God that they didn't just tear it apart and strip it. So I was able to recover the truck, there was as little damage on it, and I just needed my plates, because I'm an Uber driver, so I needed my plates."

Parker needed the new tags for his livelihood.

"When you pick up people, the first thing they do is go match a tag to make sure you are the correct person," Parker said. "I had to have my plate."

All of the branches served hundreds of people on Saturday.

"You don't have to worry about leaving work or taking off work early," said Chris Carson, a Louisville resident. "You can just come up, get up early on a Saturday morning, come over here and get the paperwork done that you needed."

The offices aren't usually open on Saturdays, but it was an opportunity to get caught up on what needed to get done.

The clerk's office said this is not tied to the CrowdStrike failure last week that caused offices around Jefferson County to close, prompting confusion and inconvenience for residents trying to renew their vehicles, and apply for marriage licenses and businesses licenses. It's also not tied to the massive backlogs facing Kentucky's new vehicle information system — KAVIS — in Frankfort.

The switch to KAVIS happened in January and it has caused transactions to hit a traffic jam. Kentucky shut down all registrations Jan. 1 so it could make the transition. It caused a lot of roadblocks by disrupting decals, plates, disabled parking permits, registrations or transfers until mid-January.

The former system, Avis, had been used by the state's motor vehicle administration for nearly 50 years. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet had been trying to switch to the new KAVIS system since 2001, but now that it has made the transition, wait times ended up being extended by 25 minutes earlier in the year.

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