BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

A Windows outage caused by cybersecurity software has impacted operations at several St. Lawrence County Offices.

North Country This Week has received multiple reports that the the software problems are also affecting area banks, but has not been immediately able to confirm the reports independently.

St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators Chairman David Forsythe confirmed that county 911 was down for about three hours this morning, but is back online.

He also confirmed that the problem stemmed from the Windows cybersecurity update from CrowdStrike.

The company has stated that  the issue believed to be behind the outage was not a security incident or cyberattack.

Forsythe said operations are sporadic at the county, but all offices remain open, but some are not online.

He said a Zoom meeting with state officials was held, but early reports indicate some issues may take multiple days to resolve. He said the county's tech team was given instructions to fix the problems.

"It didn't sound like it was a difficult fix, but they have to do the computers individually," he said. "So it will take some time."

He said the county is currently in "restoration mode."

In Ogdensburg, City Manager Fonda Chronis said the city services were not impacted by the issues. He said there were some minor hiccups related to financial software but those issues were resolved swiftly.

Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center (CMHC), Carthage Area Hospital (CAH),  and North Country Orthopaedic Group (NCOG), all members of the North Star Health Alliance, have encountered minor operational disruptions following recent updates from Microsoft. Our Operations Center, IT Department and Clinical Staff have assessed the situation and have implemented solutions to ensure minimal impact on the services we deliver to our North Country patients, stated Robert Deblois, Operations Center Manager, North Star Health Alliance.

“The Operations Center is actively collecting data on system outages throughout the North Star Health Alliance campuses. This data is being shared with the Information Technology Department and Department Managers to collaboratively establish a prioritized assistance list. By sharing information, prioritizing patient care, and involving leadership directly, the Microsoft Outage is being addressed," said Deblois.

"At this time, patients may experience slight delays and/or rescheduling of their appointments. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our community as we work diligently to resolve these issues and maintain our commitment to exceptional patient care," he said.

Rochester Regional Health, that includes Canton-Potsdam Hospital, reports a minimal impact from the outage.

"Rochester Regional Health's assessment of the worldwide CrowdStrike IT outage has shown minimal impact on our systems. All RRH hospitals and outpatient sites are fully operational, said Pamela Klosowski, Public Relations Specialist, St. Lawrence Health.

"Patients with scheduled procedures and appointments should continue with those as planned," Klosowski added.

The widespread technology outage is causing problems on a global scale. The Associated Press reports it has "grounded flights, knocked banks offline and media outlets off air on Friday in a massive disruption that affected companies and services around the world and highlighted dependence on software from a handful of providers."

North Country This Week will provide more information as it becomes available.