Attempted cyberattack disrupts Louisiana state government

BATON ROUGE, La. – Many of Louisiana’s state government websites and email systems are shut down because of what the governor’s office says is an attempted ransomware attack.

The problem Monday disrupted business operations and online services across state agencies. It happened two days after Louisiana’s election for governor, when the Secretary of State’s website was a vital link for information.

Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office says some services started returning Monday afternoon. But it could take days to restore all websites and online operations.

Edwards’ office says the Office of Technology Services identified a “cybersecurity threat” that affected some computer servers. The office took all its servers offline as a precaution.

The governor says state police and federal agencies are investigating.

Officials say nearly every state agency was affected in the shutdown.