Recent ransomware attacks on the Cobb government website have prompted the county to move it to a more secure online location.
The county announced Monday that starting June 2, what had been cobbcounty.org. will be housed at cobbcounty.gov, “ensuring that county services remain secure, transparent, and easily accessible to the public.”
County Manager Jackie McMorris said in a county release Monday that the .gov domain—which is used by many federal, state and local government agencies—will enable Cobb to take “an important step to strengthen cybersecurity and enhance public confidence in our online services. Residents can trust that when they visit our website, they are accessing official government information and services.”
The .gov domains are reserved for verified government entities, “reducing the risk of fraud and phishing attacks,” the county release said, and also are prioritized in search engine results.
E-mail security also is beefed up at .gov, and official Cobb government addresses will use @cobbcounty.gov, “improving protection against phishing and spoofing.”
In addition to providing information about county agencies, the site allows citizens to view meeting agendas, conduct online library searches, register for recreation and arts classes and pay water and property tax bills.
Cobb government officials acknowledged a ransomware attack earlier this month, but aren’t commenting on reports that the website was hacked by a global cybercrime gang that’s taken down other government sites.
The county said it declined a third-party ransom demand following the March data breach, which it said affected 10 individuals, but didn’t elaborate on what data was stolen or compromised, and that the FBI has been notified, but didn’t indicate how that agency may be involved.
The county said on May 2 only that “Cobb County’s network is secure, and it remains safe to do business with us.”
Cobb said that its current website had more than 8 million visits in 2024 and that the old address will be accessible for a limited time and that citizens should update their bookmarks now.
The county also urged residents to use the @cobbcounty.gov e-mail address when contacting county agencies and employees “as soon as possible.”
Cobb spokesman Ross Cavitt said in response to a question from East Cobb News that “this does not require any significant capital expenses and has been an ongoing project in ITS [Information Technology Services] over the past year to implement the change. There is no budgetary impact requiring [Board of Commissioners] approval.”
He said the new site will look and will be organized just the same, “except for the last three letters!” Cavitt added that there will be a new website design coming later this year.
Related:
- Cobb commissioner split on funding MUST cooling center
- Cobb Chairwoman to deliver State of the County address
- Allen takes office as Cobb commission special elections certified
- Cobb government acknowledges ransomware attack
- Cobb government said data breach affects 10 people
- Cobb school board, commission announce FY ’26 budget process
- Cobb delays Columns Drive median tree-cutting after protests
- Cobb department heads ask for $92M+ in new spending
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