The Camden County Police Department experienced a ransomware attack that has been locking many criminal investigative files and day-to-day internal administration abilities, several law enforcement officials said.
Investigators said the attack started in the middle of March and technicians continue working to try to get all systems back up and running.
A police spokesman confirmed the cyber intrusion but stressed the ransomware attack did not impact 911 call systems or other public safety responses.
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CCPD spokesman Dan Keashen said the malware first hit the department about three weeks ago.
"The agency is operational and did not experience any disruption or outages in its public safety response services to the Camden City Community," Keashen said.
The FBI, NJ State Homeland Security's office and the New Jersey attorney general’s office were all notified of the incident and are assisting in the investigation, several officials said.
Sources familiar with the matter said the hackers were demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars to unlock the files as a result of the malware. Keashen declined to comment on what group might be behind the incident or how much money was being demanded.
Sources briefed on the matter said electronic police files were among those locked and inaccessible — delaying some investigations. One official said about 80-85 percent of the files have now been reopened. Keashen said the department "is working with information technology and law enforcement professionals to ensure there is no remaining threat in our network."
One law enforcement source said investigators were looking into whether the incident began after a police department employee opened a personal email that was malware on a police department device.
Two sources said the Camden County Prosecutor’s office has also been hit by a hacking incident impacting some files. It is unclear how significant of a cyberattack the office suffered in the last couple of weeks.
A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The press office of NJ State Attorney General Matthew Platkin also did not immediately return a request for information.
A spokesperson for the FBI's office in Philadelphia said "our standard practice is to neither confirm or deny the existence of investigations."
The cyber attack on the Camden County Police Department comes after other law enforcement agencies have also been targeted. In February, the U.S. Marshals suffered a malware attack affecting numerous systems. The Washington D.C. Metro Police in 2021 and Atlanta Police Department in 2018 were also hit in malware-related attacks.
