During the 6:00 AM hour this morning, the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office was the target of a cyber attack. Thanks to a recently expanded contract with Georgia Technologies for 24/7 IT support, the attack was identified and stopped in progress, preventing what could have been catastrophic data loss.
Following the incident, Georgia Technologies, who has provided some level of IT support to the District Attorney’s Office for several years, informed District Attorney Robert Busbee that they had advised the office’s previous leadership for several years to implement a backup system specifically to guard against this type of event. Unfortunately, those recommendations were not implemented at the time citing cost concerns. It wasn’t until the final month of the prior administration, in December 2024, that efforts to secure a comprehensive backup system were initiated. Given the volume of sensitive data, the backup process is complex and takes several months to complete.
Since taking office, District Attorney Robert Busbee prioritized strengthening the office’s cybersecurity and backup capabilities, which included expanding the Georgia Technologies contract to full 24/7 IT support and monitoring. That decision proved crucial this morning, as it allowed IT specialists to detect the cyber intrusion in real time and intervene before any significant data could be compromised.
Out of an abundance of caution, all physical office locations for the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office will be tentatively closed for the next five days to allow for investigation, system recovery, and remediation. This timeline is subject to change based on the progress of the ongoing assessment. During this period, office staff will have limited ability to check emails as well as appear in court.
District Attorney Busbee notified The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Cyber Crimes Division, Superior Court Chief Judge Michael Muldrew, the Court Administrator, the Clerk of Court, the Public Defender’s Office, and other partner agencies to ensure continuity of critical court operations during this disruption.
The District Attorney’s Office will continue to provide updates to the public and the media as more information becomes available. Updates will also be shared via the office’s official Facebook page.
