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.
Timeline
Mar 4, 2026
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.
Mar 4, 2026
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.
Mar 4, 2026
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.
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