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LISBON -- Recording of documents remains ground to a halt at the Columbiana County Recorder's Office after software provider Cott Systems reported more technical issues last Friday.
As a result, Cott Systems shut down the land records management system used by the county Recorder's Office and other customers of the company. That again means no recording of deeds or other real estate transactions until further notice.
County Recorder James Armeni Sr. said his office has been receiving calls from realtors and even homeowners wanting to close on their homes, saying the delay is costing them money.
"I'm just as frustrated as they are," Armeni said.
The recorder's office remained open the last week in December but couldn't record documents and couldn't do any searches after being notified by Cott that a security threat had been detected on Christmas Day. The breach occurred at an off-site data center containing the recorder's office data.
Last Wednesday, Armeni announced that his office could record documents again, but then he said last Thursday, Cott started having equipment problems and shut them back down. He didn't announce the shutdown then because he kept receiving assurances that the company was working to fix the problem, thinking it wouldn't be as long as it has been.
The recorder's office remains open, but still not able to do business. Armeni said they can time stamp and date documents and will record those documents as soon as they are up and running again.
Armeni has been getting email updates from the company and received a statement from the company to share Thursday which thanked everyone for their patience and understanding. The shutdown of the system by Cott isn't just affecting Columbiana County but also recorders in other Ohio counties, along with governmental entities and private firms all over the country.
The technical difficulties were determined to be the result of the cyber incident and according to Armeni, the company had to replace some equipment on the company's end.
When asked if the county had any alternative at this point, he noted the company has all of the county's information and they are under contract with them. He said this was an unfortunate incident and "it can happen to anyone."
As soon as the system is back up, they'll announce it to the public.
"Cott Systems understands that this is a critical situation and has assured us that the ongoing efforts are necessary to protect our data to the fullest extent possible," the statement the company provided said.
mgreier@mojonews.com