Washburn County shut down all government systems Thursday after announcing on its website that it was experiencing a cyberattack. The county said 911 remained operational.
The full public impact was not yet clear because officials did not identify which departments or applications were unavailable. The county seat is Shell Lake, and Washburn County had an estimated population of 17,087 in 2025.
In the website notice, County Board Chair Lolita Olson directed residents to call 911 for emergencies and nonemergency reports. The notice did not provide an estimated restoration time.
The Washburn County Clerk of Circuit Court said its phone lines were down, but the office remained open and could be reached by email.
County officials described the incident as a cyberattack but did not identify the method, such as ransomware. They also did not say whether data had been accessed, stolen or encrypted, whether a ransom had been demanded or whether a threat actor had been identified.
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Other Wisconsin counties have reported recent cyber incidents. Rusk County disclosed a cybersecurity incident in March that affected parts of its network and may have involved personal information belonging to a limited group.
Iowa County confirmed an April 2025 ransomware attack that disrupted real estate, deed, tax and land transaction systems. The county later said an unauthorized third party accessed or acquired some personal, financial and medical information.
At the time of Washburn County’s website notice, 911 was working and county systems were offline. The notice did not provide a restoration timeline or say whether law enforcement, state or federal agencies or outside cybersecurity specialists were assisting.
