City still battling through cyber attack

The City of Cold Lake continues to deal with the cyber attack that breached its online security systems on Tuesday, July 23.

"We have some new information and have made some progress in getting back up and running," said CAO Kevin Nagoya. "Our IT team has been working diligently and has been successful on standing up various site-specific applications on alternate secured networks within the City."

Although phone systems are still down, some payment systems are back up and able to accept credit and debit again, including the Energy Centre, FCSS, and the Cold Lake Golf & Winter Club. Residents are asked to bring either an electronic or paper copy of any bills needing to be paid, as it helps to have the account number easily accessible.

At this time, there is still no evidence of personal or sensitive information being compromised, as this is stored on separate servers. The City's IT department has isolated the affected servers and are starting to slowly stand up small terminals at different facilities for business to continue as normal.

The attack occurred through an IP address in Russia, though this may not be the real origin, as various Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) can be used to hide the true source.

"It is still going to be days before everything is back online," said Nagoya. "Even then, it is possible things will not be completely restored, and some IT infrastructure may need to be replaced entirely."

City facilities are still open to the public for in-person help, and phone lines are in the process of getting back online. Additional updates will be made as progress continues.

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