The Haverford Township and Radnor library branches remained offline more than three weeks after a criminal cyberattack hit Delaware County's government systems, the county confirmed to 6ABC Action News.

Hackers breached the county's network on Friday, June 26, prompting officials to shut down all systems to protect sensitive data, according to a county statement and reporting by 6ABC Action News. Courts, the District Attorney's office, and the sheriff's office have since been restored. But the county's library network, which includes the Havertown branch at 1601 Darby Rd. and the Radnor branch at 114 W. Wayne Ave., has not recovered.

Sources told 6ABC that no ransom has been paid in connection with the attack. That marks a departure from 2020, when Delaware County paid $25,000, the deductible on its cyber insurance policy, after a ransomware attack. The county's insurer paid an additional undisclosed amount to the hackers in that earlier incident.

What the county has said

Delaware County's characterization of the incident shifted over several weeks. On June 26, officials described it only as a "network outage" affecting the Government Center Complex in Media. By Friday, July 10, the county acknowledged in an official statement that the incident was "a sophisticated cybercriminal attack" and that attackers gained "limited access" to data on its network.

The county said in that July 10 statement that it retained cybersecurity specialists to investigate the full scope of the breach, including whether employee or resident personal information was compromised. The county said it would fulfill notification requirements under Pennsylvania law if a data breach is confirmed.

Communications Director Michael Connolly did not answer a direct question from Broad + Liberty on Tuesday, July 15, about whether the attack was ransomware. The Herald contacted Delaware County Communications for comment and did not receive a response.

Post-2020 cybersecurity investments

After the 2020 attack, County Council unanimously approved nearly $1.6 million in cybersecurity upgrades, including 12 new IT positions. Then-Chief Information Officer Frank Bilotta told the Delaware County Daily Times in 2021 that understaffing was a key reason for the county's vulnerability.

The county's July 10 statement said those investments "proved valuable in this instance, as numerous attempts to establish a larger intrusion into County systems were repeatedly blocked, greatly limiting the extent of the interference." The library network, however, remains offline more than three weeks later, and the county has not confirmed whether personal data was compromised.

What residents should know

The county has not announced a timeline for restoring library services. Residents with questions can contact Delaware County Communications at (610) 891-4943 or [email protected].