(HorizonPost.com) – Cleveland City Hall was closed on Monday, June 10 while the city investigated a “cyber incident” that took place over the weekend affecting some computer systems.
The city said in a news release last Sunday that all of its internal systems and software would be “shut down until further notice” and all “normal business” with the public would be suspended on Monday while City Hall and the city’s Erieview offices were closed to everyone but essential staff.
According to the city, the scope and nature of the weekend’s cyber incident were unknown but officials were “taking this incident seriously,” the news release said.
The computer systems affected were shut down pending an investigation.
However, the city said that emergency services, including 911, Public Utilities, and Port Control were not impacted by the cyber incident.
City Hall and Erieview remained closed on Tuesday, June 11 as the investigation into the incident continued.
In a press briefing Monday afternoon, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb told reporters that the city’s phone service had been restored and other key IT systems were being brought back online.
Mayor Bibb said the city was continuing to investigate the incident to determine its “nature and scope.” He added that certain data was unaffected by the incident, including customer information from public utilities and taxpayer information from the city’s Central Collection Agency Division of Taxation.
The mayor said the city’s basic services like safety, utilities, public works, and the airport were operational but with only limited computer capabilities. He reiterated that the city’s emergency services were not affected by the cyber incident.
Cleveland’s information technology commissioner Kim Roy Wilson told Fox 8 that “abnormalities” were identified in the IT “environment” on Saturday, June 8.
While Mayor Bibb told reporters that the incident was a “breach,” Wilson described it as a “cyber event” but said the city was withholding the details about the incident to avoid compromising its investigation.
The mayor said the city wanted to ensure that the cyber incident was managed and contained so it could “get back to business as quickly as possible.”
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