Rapid City SD – Pennington County issued another public update Monday on its recovery from the cybersecurity incident that has disrupted county operations since early July — three weeks in, with county email still down, real estate recording systems still not restored, and a statewide primary runoff election set for Tuesday.
The update, released as a “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE” statement dated July 27, says all county offices remain open, though “a few services remain limited” and processing times “may be longer than usual as systems are safely restored.” County phone lines are working. County email is not.
What’s Back Online
The Treasurer’s Office is processing motor vehicle transactions again and accepting all forms of payment. But the office is running four to six processing stations at a time, down from nine under normal operations. The county says only transactions that have already been reviewed and confirmed complete are being moved into the processing line, and that all completed transactions from last week requiring next-day pickup are expected to go out by Wednesday.
Mailed-in registration renewals were processed and returned to customers as of Thursday, July 23.
The county is directing residents toward self-service kiosks and the state’s online portal, My605Drive.sd.gov, which it says remain fully operational — a reminder that the disruption is tied to county and city systems, not the state’s.
The Register of Deeds office is processing vital records requests again, and those records also remain available through VitalChek.com or by calling 605-773-4961.
What’s Still Down
The Treasurer’s real estate queue system has not been restored, and the county says there are “no new updates” on it.
Real estate customers are being served first-come, first-served, with payment accepted in cash, check, or credit card with proper ID.
The Auditor’s Office says it currently cannot process lien payments.
The Register of Deeds is accepting real estate recordings, but says those documents “cannot be fully processed until systems are restored” — meaning filings submitted now may not be fully reflected in the public record until the backlog clears.
Planning & Zoning says it’s providing normal services, though some processes are taking longer than usual.
County Commission meetings are continuing as scheduled and are being live-streamed, though the county warns stream quality may suffer, and says recordings will be posted “as soon as systems allow.”
The Election
The update lands the day before Tuesday’s statewide primary runoff election, in which South Dakota voters will decide runoff contests including the Republican gubernatorial primary.
The Auditor’s Office notes early voting was available at the Pennington County Administration Building until 5 p.m. Monday, and that voters should report to their assigned polling location Tuesday.
The release does not address whether voter registration or election-management systems were among those affected by the cybersecurity incident, or whether they have been operating on separate infrastructure throughout.
What the County isn’t Saying
The release repeats language from prior updates: the investigation “remains active,” and the county “cannot comment on specific technical details” while it continues, alongside state and federal partners, “to make progress in the investigation and remediation effort.”
It says no action is currently required from the public, and that anyone whose protected personal information is determined to have been affected will be notified directly — but it does not say when that determination will be made, or offer a timeline for full restoration of the real estate queue and recording systems.
Sourcing
Pennington County Attorney’s Office press release dated July 27, 2026
Leave a Reply