Multiple Georgia state law enforcement agencies hit by ransomware attack

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The Georgia State Patrol and two other state law enforcement agencies have sustained a ransomware attack on multiple computers, a spokesperson confirms.

Lt. Stephanie Stallings of the Georgia State Patrol says the attack was first detected on a field laptop 24 hours ago.

As the suspicious message spread to other workstations, the entire network serving the agency was turned off, Stallings tells FOX 5. 

The ransomware attack is affecting the GSP, the State Capitol Police and the commercial enforcement division. Officials say this means troopers and officers must rely on radio dispatch communications and phone lines for law enforcement activity. 

While this has caused a "major disruption" to operations, officials say it is not preventing officers from completing their duty. It does, however, affect their ability to research information using computer networks. 

Lt. Stallings says multiple IT agencies and specialists are investigating the matter. As of Saturday afternoon, the networks for all three agencies are offline. It is not clear what demands, if any, were made by the ransomware displays. 

The FBI confirmed Sunday evening that they are assisting in the investigation.