Malware Attack Disrupts Passaic County, New Jersey Phone Lines and IT Systems
Passaic County, New Jersey reported a malware attack that disrupted county government IT systems and caused widespread phone line outages across offices serving a population of nearly 600,000. The county indicated phone service went down Wednesday morning and later confirmed the outage was tied to a cyber incident, stating it is working with federal and state officials to investigate and contain the intrusion.
Officials have not publicly detailed which specific systems were impacted beyond telephony and general IT services, nor attributed the activity to a specific threat actor or confirmed ransomware. County statements also noted that other New Jersey local governments have experienced similar incidents recently, aligning with broader reporting that municipal and county governments have remained frequent targets of disruptive malware and ransomware operations.
Get ahead of threats like this
Mallory correlates global threat intelligence with your attack surface — know if you’re exposed before adversaries strike.
How this story unfolded
3 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
County says federal and state authorities are assisting response
As part of its public disclosure, Passaic County said it was coordinating with federal and state officials on the investigation and containment of the attack. Officials also noted similar cyber incidents affecting other local governments in New Jersey.
Passaic County confirms malware-driven cyberattack
Later the same day, Passaic County said the outages were caused by a malware-related cyberattack that disrupted both IT systems and phone lines. County officials said they were working to investigate, contain, and respond to the incident.
Passaic County reports phone outages across government offices
Passaic County, New Jersey first reported outages affecting county phone lines and related government services on Wednesday morning. The disruption impacted multiple county offices before officials publicly identified the cause.
Related entities
Vulnerabilities, threat actors, malware, products, organizations, and breaches Mallory has linked to this story.
Sources
3 references tracked. Mallory keeps watching after this page renders.
Cyberattack-related outages reported by New Jersey county | brief | SC Media
scworld.com
Open sourceCyber Attack Takes Down NJ County's Phones, IT Systems | Wayne, NJ Patch
patch.com
Open sourceNew Jersey county says malware attack took down phone lines, IT systems | The Record from Recorded Future News
therecord.media
Open sourceSee the full picture, correlated to your attack surface.
Map indicators from this story to your assets and identify affected systems in minutes.
Every observed campaign, victim, and pivot linked to actors named in this story.
Malware, exploits, and IOCs connected to the activity described here.
YARA, Sigma, and Snort rules deployed to your SIEM as soon as they’re published.
Get matching new stories delivered to your team as they break — not the next morning.
Ask questions about this story and take action on the answers.
Related stories
Other stories Mallory is tracking that overlap on entities, sources, or topic labels.
Ransomware Attack on Central Jersey Medical Center Exposes Patient Data
Central Jersey Medical Center, a federally qualified health center in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, reported a ransomware attack that occurred on August 25. The incident involved unauthorized access to the center's dental servers, where a threat actor deployed ransomware to encrypt files across the IT network. The medical center, which operates school-based health centers in Newark, initiated an investigation and took steps to secure its systems upon discovering the breach. The compromised data includes sensitive personal and health information such as names, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, race or ethnicity, Social Security numbers, dental record numbers, and health insurance details. The center is notifying affected individuals and has posted a breach notice on its website, but the total number of impacted people has not been disclosed. The attack highlights ongoing risks to healthcare providers and the potential exposure of patient data in ransomware incidents.
Mar 21, 2026
PowerSchool Breach Exposed Student and Teacher Data as Minnesota District Faced Suspected Ransomware
A breach tied to **PowerSchool**, a widely used K-12 software provider, exposed student and teacher information from school districts across the U.S., including New Jersey districts where officials said data on students and educators was stolen in a nationwide cyberattack. Reporting on the incident said the compromise affected records held by schools using the platform, raising concerns about the scale of exposure across the education sector and the security of sensitive K-12 data. Separately, **Spring Lake Park Schools** in Minnesota canceled classes and shut down technology systems after an outside actor gained unauthorized access to district networks in what officials described as a suspected ransomware incident. The disruption affected classes, child care, community education, and after-school programs, while the district worked with third-party cybersecurity experts, state law enforcement, and the **FBI** to contain the intrusion and restore operations; officials later said classes would resume and that they had no evidence at that point that personal information had been affected.
May 25, 2026
Cyberattack Disrupts Shared IT Services of Three London Councils
A cybersecurity incident has disrupted the shared IT systems of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster City Council, and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The attack, first identified on a Monday morning, has led to outages affecting council websites, phone lines, and online reporting services, forcing the councils to invoke business continuity and emergency plans. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is assisting with remediation, and IT teams have implemented mitigations to restore services and protect data, though the full extent of the compromise remains under investigation. Authorities have stated that it is too early to determine the responsible party or the motive behind the attack, and investigations are ongoing to assess whether any data has been compromised. The councils have notified the Information Commissioner’s Office as a precaution and are prioritizing support for their most vulnerable residents. Residents have been advised of service disruptions and assured that updates will be provided as more information becomes available. Media reports suggesting Hackney Council was affected have been denied by officials.
Mar 21, 2026