'Cyber Incident' Forces Arkansas Fiber ISP to Shut Down Linear Video Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 12, 2024 – The communications arm of an Arkansas electric cooperative is offering thousands of its Internet customers free broadband and streaming services for a month as compensation for the loss of linear video service caused by a recent "cyber incident."

OzarksGo in Fayetteville, Ark., said the Oct. 7 cyber incident – the term the Internet Service Provider used to describe what happened – targeted servers that supply linear TV service to 4,500 customers in northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma.

"Upon learning of the potential event," the company said it reacted by immediately deactivating impacted equipment and engaging external experts, according to a company message posted on its website.

OzarksGo indicated that it did not expect the outage to end soon.

"Due to the nature of the incident, the service impact is ongoing and expected to continue for an extended period," OzarksGo said.

The statement did not describe what happened as a cyberattack or something similar. The company had no details about the source or duration of the cyber incident.

OzarksGo, a telecommunications subsidiary of Ozarks Electric Cooperative, said its services include high-speed internet and premium television and telephone services to northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma using an all-fiber-optic network.

The company stressed the cyber incident was limited to linear video and that customer privacy had been protected.

"All other Ozarks go offerings, including streaming, are fully operational," the company said. "An ongoing investigation has not identified evidence that any sensitive customer personal or financial information was compromised.”

During the pandemic, OzarksGo made news by connecting its fiber network to mobile hotspots within parked school buses to help community students that did not have home Internet complete their school projects.