Officials in Madison County say a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom has left the county struggling to conduct business . County Commissioner Brent Mendenhall tells the Post Register in a story on Wednesday county employees have been unable to send emails since Sunday . Madison County Clerk Kim Muir says the county is using backup data from Saturday to issue paychecks Thursday . The objective of ransomware is to cut off a user 's access to computer systems and then demand payment Attack.Ransom to return that access . Mendenhall and Muir say they have no intention of paying the ransom Attack.Ransom and have n't looked to see how much is being demanded Attack.Ransom . Mendenhall credited county workers for backing up data , meaning the system can be restored without paying the ransom Attack.Ransom .