Kootenai County officials yesterday notified an undisclosed number of people about a March 2026 data breach that compromised personal information.
The county said a ransomware attack hit its network on March 30, 2026 but did not specify what data was compromised or how many people are affected.
Kootenai County’s board of commissioners discussed the breach in a May 19, 2026 meeting during a closed-door executive session.
“On March 30, 2026, the County detected and responded to a ransomware attack impacting its network,” says the county’s latest notice (PDF) to breach victims.
“On June 22, 2026, that review was completed and the County determined that this incident involved unauthorized acquisition of personal information, as defined by Idaho law.”
No ransomware groups have publicly taken credit for the breach at time of publication. We do not know if the county paid a ransom, how much was demanded, or how attackers breached the county’s network. Comparitech contacted Kootenai County officials for comment and will update this article if they reply.
Kootenai County is offering eligible breach victims free credit monitoring.
This isn’t the first breach to compromise the personal info of Kootenai County residents. Local hospital Kootenai Health notified 464,088 people of a February 2024 data breach that leaked Social Security numbers and medical records. Ransomware group ThreeAM claimed responsibility for that attack.
Ransomware attacks on US government
Comparitech researchers have logged 28 confirmed ransomware attacks on US government entities in 2026 to date. Other such recent attacks include:
- Murray County, GA confirmed it paid a $200,000 ransom after a May 2026 data breach
- Prince George County, DC said it experienced a network outage in June 2026. Cybercriminal group RansomHouse took credit
- Cybercriminal group NightSpire recently claimed responsibility for an attack on “K****** County. Mi\e**ta” on its data leak website. This most likely refers to Kittson County, Minnesota, which reported a cybersecurity incident in June 2026
- Middletown, OH earlier this month notified 20,608 people of a July 2025 data breach claimed by SafePay
We are monitoring another 27 *unconfirmed *attack claims against government agencies made by ransomware groups in 2026 that haven’t been publicly acknowledged by the targeted organizations.
Ransomware attacks on government entities can both steal data and lock down computer systems. They can disrupt any number of government systems from bill payments to court records and even emergency dispatch. Governments must decide whether to pay a ransom for the stolen data and to restore systems, or else they can face extended downtime, permanent data loss, and putting data subjects at increased risk of fraud.
About Kootenai County, Idaho
Kootenai County is Idaho’s third-most populous county, home to about 170,000 people in the state’s northern panhandle.