The St. Mary’s County Government (SMCG) Department of Emergency Services (DES) is notifying residents about a recent cybersecurity incident involving the CodeRED Emergency Notification System. CodeRED is a third-party emergency notification service used by local governments across the country to send emergency alerts.
What Happened
CodeRED has informed SMCG that data associated with the legacy OnSolve CodeRED platform had been removed from their systems in a targeted cyberattack. While there is currently no indication that this data has been published online, CodeRED has advised that the data may be leaked in the future.
This cybersecurity incident was limited to systems owned and operated by the private CodeRED vendor. There is no indication that any St. Mary’s County Government systems, networks, or internal databases were accessed or affected.
What Information Was Involved
According to CodeRED, the impacted dataset may include contact information used in the CodeRED system, including:
- Name
- Address
- Email address
- Phone numbers
- Passwords associated with CodeRED user profiles
What Residents Should Do
If you created a CodeRED account, we strongly recommend that you:
- Change your CodeRED password.
- Change the password on any other accounts (email, banking, shopping, social media, etc.) where you used the same or a similar password.
- Monitor your accounts for unusual or suspicious activity and report any concerns to your service providers.
As always, residents should be cautious about unsolicited calls, texts, or emails, especially those requesting personal or financial information.
Impact on Emergency Notifications
Out of an abundance of caution, CodeRED has permanently decommissioned the legacy OnSolve CodeRED platform previously used by St. Mary’s County. To ensure continuity of service, CodeRED has accelerated our transition to its new CodeRED by Crisis24 platform. The Department of Emergency Services now has access to this updated system and can continue to send emergency notifications.
What St. Mary’s County Government Is Doing
SMCG’s Department of Emergency Services and Department of Information Technology are:
- Actively working with CodeRED and external partners to monitor the situation and the restoration of services.
- Reviewing the capabilities, functionality, and reliability of the new CodeRED by Crisis24 platform to ensure it meets our operational requirements.
- Evaluating internal procedures and notification protocols to maintain the highest possible level of service during this transition.
- Seeking additional information regarding historical data, including access to data current as of March 2025.
Our priority is to protect the safety, security, and privacy of St. Mary’s County residents while maintaining transparent communication about incidents that may affect you.
Residents with questions or concerns about this incident or about emergency notifications in St. Mary’s County may contact DES at [email protected] or (301)-475-4200 ext. 2125.
