Wood County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) was recently notified by CodeRED, the county’s contracted mass notification services vendor, that CodeRED experienced a cybersecurity incident.
As a result of the incident, the OnSolve CodeRED platform is unable to issue alerts and notifications. CodeRED is working to restore services by migrating customers to a new secure platform. CodeRED is a company that provides emergency notification services to over ten thousand communities nationwide.
According to its website, it “helps local governments communicate quickly with residents, visitors, and businesses – whether during emergency or routine events.” Wood County, along with 19 other jurisdictions within the county, uses CodeRED to provide notifications to employees and the public about weather-related, public safety, and other urgent events.
CodeRED has notified its customers that certain contact information of individuals using its system may have been released during the incident. This information may include a user’s name, address, email address, phone number, and any password used to create a CodeRED user profile.
CodeRED recommends that if any user utilizes their CodeRED profile password for other personal or business accounts, those passwords should be promptly changed.
CodeRED is not connected to Wood County’s digital network, and no county systems were affected by this thirdparty vendor breach. During this disruption of services, Wood County EMA encourages residents to: Ensure Wireless Emergency Alerts are turned ON in phone settings. Follow the Wood County EMA and the Wood County Sheriff’s Office on social media. Maintain multiple options for obtaining warnings, including NOAA Weather Radio, mobile phone weather apps, and local media outlets.
Wood County EMA will continue to work with CodeRED to ensure the public is informed of any pertinent updates. To learn more about the CodeRED incident and view the notice provided by CodeRED, please visit the Wood County EMA website at www.woodcountyema.org .
