PIERRE, S.D.(DRGNews & KELOLAND)-

Update:

Power has been restored after the State of South Dakota faced widespread computer issues.

According to a press release from the state’s Bureau of Information Technology (BIT) as of 3:53 p.m. Wednesday, power to the computer systems has been restored. Core networking and storage systems are now back online. Internet access, wireless services, phone systems, and state radio have been fully restored.

While some services are now operational, a full restoration is still in progress. The State Home Page and Citizen Portal are accessible, though some connected systems are still being restored for functionality.

A power outage to the State of South Dakota’s Data Center in Pierre on Tuesday had taken down all state-hosted services and some network communications.

Lisa Rahja (rye-uh), executive communications manager for the state Bureau of Information and Technology, told DRG Media Group that the outage is NOT connected to any type of cybersecurity or hacking incident. She said the interruption has been confirmed as a hardware failure directly caused by the power outage at the State Data Center.

Rahja said the State Engineer and BIT technical staff “investigated the root cause and are taking measures to remediate, including replacing hardware that was impacted.” She said recovery efforts are a top priority and all state agencies and partners are taking necessary steps to work through the challenges of the service interruption.

South Dakota Supreme Court justices declared a judicial emergency on Wednesday, Aug. 20 as state government telephone systems and websites were down for a second day.

“All deadlines, time schedules, due dates and filing requirements imposed by applicable statutes, rules and court orders are suspended until further ordered by the court,” according to a news release from the justices.

Treasurer’s Offices across the state are unable to do regular business until situation is resolved.

Driver’s licenses can’t be obtained at this time.