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Online payments of vehicle taxes not currently being accepted
March 5, 2021

Due to issues resulting from a recent ransomware attack, Georgetown County is currently unable to accept vehicle tax payments online. Additionally, payments made between Jan. 22 and March 1 may not be accurately reflected on our system. We apologize for this inconvenience and are are working to remedy it as quickly as possible. In the meantime payments can be accepted by mail or at the Treasurer's Office in the historic courthouse, located at 129 Screven St., Georgetown.

During this time, taxpayers will need to take proof of payment to the Department of Motor Vehicles and pick up their license plate decal as the county cannot transmit information to the DMV.

If you have questions or would like more information, please contact the Treasurer's Office at (843) 545-3098.
 

County continues to recover from cyber attack

Feb. 27, 2021

Four weeks after a ransomware attack brought down everything from email capabilities to network file access, operations in most Georgetown County departments are getting back to normal.

The county’s IT staff, working in conjunction with cyber security experts brought in by the county’s insurance provider after the hack, has worked at a rapid pace to make it happen.

“It might not seem that fast to people who have been waiting for their computers to come back on, but they’ve basically been moving at the speed of light over in IT,” said Walt Ackerman, Georgetown County Director of Administrative Services and Human Resources. His efforts since the attack have been largely redirected to working as a liaison between IT, other county staff, and other agencies involved in investigating the attack and restoring county systems.

“Under normal circumstances, all they have accomplished would probably have taken six or seven months,” Ackerman said.

Some of the steps taken, such as moving the county’s email to a cloud-based system, were already in the works, but had to be moved up dramatically in response to the cyber intrusion, which occurred on Jan. 22. The county immediately called in the State Law Enforcement Division and reported the incident to its cyber insurance provider.

An investigation revealed the criminals responsible for the attack gained access to the county’s system via a phishing email. It was a “very sophisticated attempt,” which would have fooled most people, county officials were told. Further details about the ransom and the perpetrators are not available at this time as the investigation remains open. The county did not pay the ransom.

While much has been accomplished already, there is still a lot to do get the county’s network completely back up and running. Email has been restored for several hundred staff members and facilities with the largest groups of staff can once again access files on the county’s shared network. Additionally, most computers are back up and running. Those machines identified as having been infected have either been scrubbed clean or will be replaced entirely due to the persistence of the malware they were infected with. County internet access has not been restored and will not be until IT staff is 100 percent certain that all traces of the virus have been eliminated from the system. Staff continues to utilize hotspots and similar devices for online access in the meantime.

The county’s GIS system also remains down and will be one of the next big projects for the IT Department. Hopes are the GIS system will be back up the first week of March.

 

Council extends mask mandate, State of Emergency through March 9

Jan. 26, 2021

Georgetown County Council voted on Jan. 26 to extend the ordinance requiring individuals to wear face coverings in businesses. The ordinance will expire at midnight March 10 if not renewed by County Council at its March 9 meeting. 

The ordinance mandates that members of the public wear masks that cover the nose and mouth in Georgetown County businesses, including grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants and retail stores. Restaurant patrons are exempt while dining, but employees must wear a mask at all times while having face-to-face interaction with the public.

Businesses are required to post written notification at their main entrance notifying customers of the new law. One may be downloaded below, or businesses may create their own.

Download a sign for your business

View the complete mask ordinance

The right way to wear a mask

ADA Compliance 

 

 

 

For more Georgetown County news, visit our Online Newsroom.

 

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