A recent cyber-attack at the Florida Department of Health is causing problems for funeral homes statewide.
The Florida Department of Health confirmed a group of ransom thieves hacked the state’s “Vital Statistics System,” which is used to process birth and death certificates.
Thomas Griffin Jr. works at Strong & Jones Funeral Home in Tallahassee. He told WFSU on Monday that the attack has kept families from receiving burial services.
“We can’t accommodate the families at this time period as far as what they need done to accomplish insurance policies and things of that nature,” explained Griffin. “A lot of stuff you can’t get done without a certified copy of the death certificate.”
The Florida Department of Health does not know when the system will be back up and running. The Department is coordinating with law enforcement and all “relevant stakeholders” to address this issue.
In the meantime, some funeral homes in Florida have postponed services entirely or had to physically visit a health care provider to get a signed copy of a death certificate.
Griffin says it’s been this way for two weeks.
