Cashmere reviews cybersecurity practices after county ransomware attack
Cashmere reviews cybersecurity practices after county ransomware attack
Publish Date: 2026-06-25 17:05:00
Source Domain: cashmerevalleyrecord.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
By ANDREW SIMPSONWard Media Staff Reporter
CASHMERE — In the weeks following the ransomware attack that disrupted Chelan County operations, Cashmere officials are taking a closer look at cybersecurity awareness, employee training and internal procedures in hopes of avoiding a similar situation.
The discussion emerged during a June 22 City Council meeting, where staff and council members reflected on lessons learned from the county’s ongoing recovery efforts and the growing threat of cybercrime facing local governments.
City Clerk-Treasurer Elizabeth Martinez said she has been researching fraud-awareness and cybersecurity training opportunities for city employees while reviewing internal procedures and speaking with colleagues about recent incidents.
One topic discussed during the meeting was the importance of recognizing potential threats before they become larger problems.
Councilmember Jeff Johnson said the main lesson he has taken from the Chelan County attack is the need to investigate suspicious activity early, even when the full scope of a threat is not immediately apparent.
“There’s one lesson learned,” Johnson said. “I don’t know a ton about the situation, but my understanding is that the hacking attempt — and success, for that matter — happened weeks, if not a month, before they actually pushed the button and made [the destructive effects] happen.”
Johnson said the attack appeared to demonstrate how cyber intrusions can remain undetected or underestimated until significant damage has already occurred.
“The lesson is the county was aware that it happened at the time, but they didn’t realize the magnitude of it,” he said. “So it’s one of those things, if anybody is aware of a potential hack, it ought to be recorded and addressed at that time.”
Martinez shared examples from her auditing experience and from her time with the city, noting that many cyber-related incidents begin with routine communications that appear legitimate.
In one case, she said, an organization unknowingly changed banking information after receiving what appeared to be a legitimate request from a vendor. The request had actually been intercepted and redirected by scammers, resulting in a payment of approximately $17,000 being sent to a fraudulent account.
More recently, Martinez said city staff received a phone call from individuals impersonating representatives of Cashmere Valley Bank. The callers claimed someone had attempted to access city accounts and sought additional information from staff.
Martinez said several warning signs quickly raised concerns, including the prefix of the phone number used by the callers. Staff ultimately verified the call was fraudulent and reported the incident.
“It was a really good moment for me to just let everybody know and say, ‘Hey, if they call, no matter what they’re saying, just hang up and go to Cashmere Valley Bank or call them,'” Martinez told council members.
She said the experience reinforced the importance of employee awareness and routine training, particularly as scams increasingly rely on impersonation and social engineering rather than sophisticated technical attacks.
Mayor Jim Fletcher said city staff have been working to modernize internal systems and improve record management, while Martinez said she is exploring additional training resources available through state and municipal organizations.
No cybersecurity measures were formally adopted during the meeting. However, officials said the county ransomware attack has heightened awareness of the risks facing local governments and underscored the importance of vigilance, employee education and prompt reporting of suspicious activity.
Chelan County continues to recover from the extent of the cyberattack discovered in late May, which disrupted county websites, email systems, phone services and other operations.
Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or [email protected]
