Hack Attack Hits Founding Father

Cyberattackers have hit one of the sprawling home of one of the nation's Founding Fathers.

Computers and telephone at Monticello, the Virginia plantation owned by Thomas Jefferson, were crippled by a ransomware attack, home administrators revealed on Wednesday.

"We're working with IT experts at the moment to investigate and address the issue, and we're working to restore the affected services as soon as possible," Ann Taylor, executive vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, told NBC29.

"Our staff is working with manual systems, but we welcomed a lot of guests yesterday. The weather is beautiful, and we're looking forward to July 4th."

Ransomware is a malicious software infection that blocks a computer system until ransom money is paid. NBC29 said Monticello has contacted law enforcement officials about the attack.

Jefferson was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence and the nation's third president from 1801 to 1809.

Monticello, located just outside Charlottesville, is a National Historic Landmark and depicted on the reverse side of the U.S. nickel.

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