![County offices continue work after cybersecurity attack[Update]](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpub-6d46937c47a9419fbe3e37bc9fe921bb.r2.dev%2Fposts%2Ffeatured%2Ff44753751db74b9199fba4a3f407c7a9.jpg&w=3840&q=90)
Status as of July 14, 2026:
- More departments have resumed normal operations (details below).
- Security validation and monitoring continue before remaining systems are brought back online.
Pennington County continues making steady progress in its response to the recent cybersecurity incident. County staff and cybersecurity experts remain focused on restoring operations within a safe and remediated network environment. We apologize for the operational disruption that this event may have caused, or continue to cause, until a safe restoration of services has been completed.
Additionally, county teams continue working closely with state and federal partners, as well as forensic experts, to investigate the incident. The comprehensive assessment is ongoing, and part of the assessment includes an analysis of whether personal information was affected. At this time, no action is required from members of the public. If we determine that personal information was involved in the incident, we will notify those individuals directly.
Department Updates:
Treasurer’s Office
- Staff are available to answer questions related to vehicle titles and other Treasurer’s Office matters.
- The office is currently unable to process vehicle registrations or accept payments of any kind.
- Vehicle registration renewals remain available online at my605drive.sd.gov and at self-service kiosks.
- Individuals whose temporary license plates expire within the next week should visit the Treasurer’s Office at 900 Concourse Drive for options.
Auditor’s Office
- Early voting remains available.
- The office is unable to process lien payments at this time.
Register of Deeds
- The Register of Deeds Office is now able to process vital records requests; however, they can only accept cash at this time. Vital records are also available online through VitalChek.com or by calling 605-773-4961.
- The Register of Deeds Office is currently accepting real estate recordings; however, they cannot be fully processed at this time.
Planning & Zoning
- The Department is providing its usual services; however, some processes may take longer than normal, and they are only able to accept cash or checks at this time.
Board of Commissioners
- County Commission meetings will continue as scheduled. Due to the cybersecurity incident, meetings may not be livestreamed. They will be recorded and posted as soon as systems allow.
For the latest information regarding County services, please visit PennCo.org or follow the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office Facebook page.
Status of County Services as of July 9:
Pennington County Continues Cybersecurity Response; Some Services Remain Limited
Pennington County continues working with state and federal partners to investigate the recent cybersecurity incident while safely restoring County systems and services. Protecting County data remains our highest priority.
Because this remains an active investigation, we are unable to discuss specific details regarding the incident at this time.
As restoration efforts continue, some County services remain limited.
Treasurer’s Office
- Staff are available to answer questions related to vehicle titles and other Treasurer’s Office matters.
- The office is currently unable to process vehicle registrations or accept payments of any kind.
- Vehicle registration renewals remain available online at my605drive.sd.gov and at self-service kiosks.
- Individuals whose temporary license plates expire within the next week should visit the Treasurer’s Office at 900 Concourse Drive for options.
Auditor’s Office
- Early voting remains available.
- The office is unable to process lien payments at this time.
Register of Deeds
- Birth, death and marriage certificates remain available online through VitalChek.com or by calling 605-773-4961
- The Register of Deeds Office is currently accepting real estate recordings; however, they cannot be fully processed at this time.
Planning & Zoning
- Staff are now able to manually process building permits.
- The Planning & Zoning Commission will meet as scheduled on July 13 to elect officers. All other agenda items will be continued to the July 27 meeting.
- County Commission meetings will continue as scheduled. Due to the cybersecurity incident, meetings may not be livestreamed. They will be recorded and posted as soon as systems allow.
For the latest information regarding County services, please visit PennCo.org or follow the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office Facebook page.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE AT 5:15pm
Status of County Services (Starting July 7)
County Offices: Open, but many services are heavily impacted.
Treasurer’s Office: * Yes: Staff can answer questions about vehicle titles and other matters. No: Cannot process vehicle registrations or accept any payments.
Alternative: Renew vehicle registrations online at my605drive.sd.gov or at self-service kiosks.
Auditor’s Office: * Yes: Early voting is available. No: Cannot process lien payments.
Register of Deeds: * Yes: Vital records (birth, death, marriage certificates) can be obtained on-site. Real estate recordings are also accepted.
Alternative: Vital records are also available online at VitalChek.com.
RAPID CITY, SD – Pennington County offices will be open Tuesday after a cybersecurity threat over the weekend resulted in many county offices being closed Monday and services being curtailed while county officials assessed the situation and restored systems.
During a press conference Monday, Pennington County Sheriff Brian Mueller said the county was currently focused on assessing and restoring all systems and protecting personal information.
“I think that’s always going to be people’s first concern,” Mueller said. “That’s why we’re taking the necessary steps to work through this process slowly to protect people’s personal information, that’s our highest priority.”
Mueller wouldn’t elaborate on how the cyber-attack occurred or the scope of the attack.
“When information becomes more available and we have a better picture of exactly what we’re dealing with we do plan to release more information on that in the future.” Mueller said.
Several county departments and services were closed Monday. Critical public safety services, including 911, the Pennington County Jail, 24/7, emergency response operations, and court operations, remain fully operational.
Pennington County is working closely with the South Dakota National Guard Cyber Incident Response Team, the South Dakota Fusion Center, the Cyber Infrastructure Security Agency, and other partners during the investigation.
“We have a lot of good people working through this issue right now,” Mueller said. “We’re just really appreciative of the partners we have. We just continue to ask the public for patience as we work through that and just know that the public’s personal information is a high priority for us in this process.”
The City of Rapid City is investigating city systems in light of the cyber attack on the county.
In a press release, the City reported Monday there was an active investigation of systems to ensure there have been no impacts to city systems in relation to the incident.
“Due to the incident at the County, the City’s IT team is conducting a thorough investigation to ensure City systems and data have not been affected,” said City IT Director Jim Gilbert.
“Because the City and County share infrastructure and collaborate on a limited number of systems, this review is a necessary step to confirm the security of City systems and the network.”
According to the press release, due to the investigation and security measures being employed by City IT, many city departments are unable to process payments including utility bills. Processing of building permits is also impacted. There is no timeline for completion of the investigation, however City Finance Officer Daniel Ainslie expects the impacts to be resolved soon, emphasizing the importance of the City IT review and to ensure there are no issues from the county cybersecurity incident with City systems.
Ainslie indicates utility payments can still be mailed and dropped off in-person at the City Finance Office, but online payments cannot be processed and in-person payments will be accepted with a receipt provided until the security review is completed.
