PORT HADLOCK — The five-member JeffCom board has enlisted city and county technology personnel to help remedy the discovery of a second computer virus in seven months on Jefferson County emergency 9-1-1 system computers.
In August, a Zobot computer virus was discovered on the JeffCom 9-1-1 system that disabled the Port Hadlock office for 10 hours.
According to Microsoft’s Web site, a Zobot virus is a worm that targets Windows 2000-based computers and takes advantage of the computer’s security system.
For more than a hour in August, contact to emergency dispatch was cut off before the alternate dispatch center in the Port Townsend Fire Station on Lawrence Street could be activated.
The virus didn’t destroy any information or files, said JeffCom Director Donna Hamlin, who started at her position two days before the August virus hit.
In addition, no serious 9-1-1 calls were missed during the interruption.
The virus turned all the computer screens blue and left them unusable.
The same virus was discovered earlier this month in the JeffCom computer system, but it had not penetrated the firewalls that have been installed since August.
“There are viruses everywhere out there,” said Hamlin. “That’s why we have firewalls.
“I can’t say there’s no chance of a virus getting in, but it’s a lot more remote than in August.”
Hamlin said if a virus does get through the system, staff would contact personnel at the Port Townsend Fire Station who could flip a switch and begin receiving calls until JeffCom employees arrived there to field calls.
