On Thursday, an email went out from the office of Lee County Tax Collector Larry Hart, sent by hackers having gained access to his email.
It has been reported that Hart was using a device out of his office and the device was compromised.
Lee County taxpayers are now worried that their information might have been compromised in the hack. However, Noelle Branning, Deputy Chief Tax Collector, said that because Larry Hart rarely emails taxpayers directly, they aren’t likely to have received the email.
"We don't think our taxpayers need to have any concern," Branning said. "Additionally, it doesn't appear that any taxpayer information has been compromised in any way."
While the office maintains that it does not seem that any information has been compromised, Branning cautions anyone opening an email from Hart to be careful.
"If it's an email coming from Mr. Hart containing an attachment or a link, no one should open the attachment, nor should they try to click on the link," said Branning.
Hart’s account has been disabled as a security measure and is undergoing a forensic exam. A cybersecurity professional is helping them get to the bottom of the hack. Meanwhile, an organisation-wide advisory has been sent to make them aware of the risk.
Other counties have also been warned of the possibility of a hack.
