LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Jefferson County Clerks Office is keeping all Louisville offices closed for the third day in a row Thursday, as the city grapples with a ransomware attack.
At this moment hackers have access to information stored in the clerk's office system and are demanding money in exchange for its release.
And while community members have shared their frustrations of being unable to keep up with their car's registration or other services, local car dealerships are also feeling the impact -- hard.
"We were already in a transition with [Kentucky's Automated Vehicle Information System] and the new system they've installed in Kentucky," Tammy Coats, owner of Greg Coats Cars and Trucks, said. "So, we were already backlogged and then this happens with the ransom, so it's just a whole other set of issues."
The Kentucky's Automated Vehicle Information System, or KAVIS, was implemented state-wide in January. The transition hasn't been easy.
"There's no way to escape it," Coats said. "Every day you don't get work, you don't get work return that you have down at the clerk's office waiting to be transferred, waiting to be processed."
Coats has been in the business since 1978 and said she has never seen an attack like this before. She said their dealership is experiencing longer wait times to get paperwork processed due to KAVIS and the ransomware attack on the clerk.
Mercedes Benz of Louisville Title Manager Jenica Greenwell is feeling the same impact over in far eastern Jefferson County.
"From the time they purchase the car, it goes through finance, it goes through the insurance and all that stuff to get to me to be transferred, it's two weeks," she said. "Right now, we're looking at three months."
Greenwell said she isn't able to issue duplicate titles or temporary tags.
"I have people coming to me now like how can I renew my plate? You can't! And then they're asking, well what if I get pulled over? The cops know it's an issue, but I can't prevent them from pulling you over and getting a ticket so then you have to go to court and it's a whole big thing," Greenwell said. "Just be aware it’s not the dealerships fault, we are trying, but our hands are tied.”
Louisville dealerships are geared up for another day of a system-shutdown, with no end in sight.
Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw said Wednesday in an interview that they don't know when they'll reopen, but Jefferson county residents can start going to the clerks in our surrounding counties.