Niagara County impacted by global tech outage

Update: On Saturday, Gov. Kathy Hochul stated, “We continue to address the IT outage of Windows computers affected by a third-party software tool that impacted systems and services worldwide. New York state has 24x7x365 cyber, technology, and emergency response staff that identified and began working on this issue in the early hours of Friday morning. Thousands of staff across dozens of agencies are working around the clock throughout the weekend to continue to remediate systems.

“We have made significant progress in restoring systems in collaboration with state and local government partners and the third-party provider. Critical life safety services, including 911 remain operational, and New Yorkers should continue to call 911. I have also directed that forbearance be granted for those that were unable to conduct business with the state due to the outage, such as individuals needing DMV license renewals.

“I am grateful to all of the staff who deployed quickly when this issue occurred and have continued working around the clock to fix systems across the state. I remain in close contact with our cyber, IT, and emergency response teams, and can assure New Yorkers that we are doing all we can to quickly restore services.”

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Submitted by the Public Information Office

Some Niagara County Departments have been impacted by today’s global tech outage. Our IT team is working to repair any systems that are down. It is intermittent across departments.

If you had business to conduct with the county today, you may want to call the department and make sure they can process your transaction.

The county department directory can be found here in the directory of officials: https://www.niagaracounty.com/government/county_information/about_niagara_county___directory_of_officials.php.

Statewide issue

Submitted by the Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul

New York State Chief Cyber Officer Colin Ahern said, “We are aware of an issue affecting Windows computers running a third-party security software tool that is impacting systems and services worldwide. It is not a security incident or cyberattack.

“We are working with our agencies, local governments, and the third-party service provider to resolve any issues on impacted systems. Our priority is to ensure all 911 systems across New York are operational and able to address emergency response needs. The third party has identified a fix for the underlying issue, and the New York State Office of Information Technology Services is actively working with other state agencies on a resolution. We do not yet have a timeline for full restoration.

“Gov. Hochul is closely monitoring impacts to critical infrastructure, including finance and transportation. We recognize the impact this is having on services, not only across New York but also globally.”