Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s office told employees today that the “cyber incident” that disrupted City Hall computer systems was a ransomware attack.
An email to workers Friday afternoon, obtained by Signal Cleveland, said the city confirmed the presence of ransomware after an investigation by city IT staff, the FBI and Ohio National Guard’s Cyber Reserve.
“The nature of the attack is still under investigation while we work to restore and recover our systems,” the email said. “At this time, we cannot disclose anything further, as this is a sensitive investigation.”
This was the city’s first widespread acknowledgement that it had suffered a ransomware attack since it first encountered computer system problems last Saturday.
The email said that ransomware attacks are on the rise, “a stark reality that no organization is immune” to the costs of digital threats. Neither the message to employees, nor a subsequent news release from the city, says whether the city has paid the ransom.
“We are taking this matter very seriously and are working diligently to assess the full extent of the attack on our systems,” the email said. “We have taken immediate steps to validate our cybersecurity measures and are working to restore our systems as quickly as possible.”
City Hall will be closed to the public again on Monday, while employees must report to work. Bibb’s office said that essential services – emergency response, waste collection, recreation centers, the airport and utilities – are still functioning.
