Hamilton Cyber Attack Enters Day 3, Affecting Many Services

The City of Hamilton has confirmed it is currently managing a cyber attack that began on Sunday, affecting several of its IT systems, issuing a statement on the attack.

The city said it has taken immediate steps to address the situation, including launching an investigation, securing systems, and working to minimize the disruption caused by the breach. Officials have assured that essential services such as transit, water and wastewater treatment, and emergency services are still working as normal.

“It is too early to determine the nature of the information accessed,” said the city in a statement, emphasizing the ongoing efforts to restore affected systems securely and efficiently. A team of cybersecurity experts has been mobilized to assist with the recovery process.

The Customer Contact Centre remains open for inquiries, though the city has advised of potential delays due to reduced staff capacity. Efforts to manually process routine transactions are underway, and the city pledges to keep the public informed as new information becomes available. Details on what actually happened are scarce, but this could be a case of ransomware taking place.

“We are sensitive to the information we share during the ongoing investigation and response,” the city stated, committing to future updates on the restoration process and preventive measures against similar incidents.

“I want to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Rest assured, we are taking this matter very seriously and have engaged a team of highly skilled cyber experts who are diligently working to investigate, minimize impact, and protect our community,” said Marnie Cluckie, City Manager in a statement on Tuesday.

City emails, along with phone lines and the transit app HSR now are down, said officials. Bus drivers are manually calling out stops, as the automated system is down. Tuesday committee meetings were called due to “technical” issues. City mapping services via the GIS Systems are down, long-term care homes Macassa and Wentworth lodges cannot receive phone calls.

Meanwhile, the Wi-Fi at the Hamilton Public Library is also down, but branches are still open.