[BreachExchange] Phones up, email still down at city hall in wake of cyber-attack

[Destry Winant]

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/phones-up-email-still-down-at-city-hall-in-wake-of-cyber-attack/wcm/68bcc44e-b609-41db-900a-b5c90d9e3a8e

Phone lines were back up and running Tuesday at Stratford City Hall
but email and certain functions on the city’s website remained down in
the wake of a confirmed cyber-attack.

Voicemail systems were still being reprogrammed, but they were
expected to be fixed soon.

“By the end of today, all phone lines will be back up and
functioning,” Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson said Tuesday afternoon.

However, email and online forms on the city’s website were still down
and “will be until further notice as they work through everything,”
Mathieson said.

City staff said IT experts confirmed they were the target of a
ransomware attack, but they found no evidence of a data theft or
transfer. As for any financial demand and the attack itself, Mathieson
said “at this time, we have no further comment on it as the IT experts
and police work on our behalf.”

Stratford police offered a similar update Tuesday.

“(We) are working alongside external forensic IT experts, legal
counsel including specialists in protection of privacy and City of
Stratford IT personnel. All appropriate investigative measures are
being employed to adequately investigate this criminal activity,”
police Chief Greg Skinner wrote in an email to the Beacon Herald.

Skinner added the OPP has assigned specially trained investigators
with technical and analytical expertise to support the investigation.

After first acknowledging the attack through social media Sunday night
and offering a brief update early Monday, city staff sent out answers
to five commonly asked questions later that evening to help ease
concerns of residents.

“We felt they were helpful in providing answers as best as possible at
this time,” Mathieson said.

The city said despite a virus preventing staff from accessing data,
critical operations such as transit, water and wastewater treatment
and emergency services were still functional.