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Dear Neighbors,
Work is well underway to fortify and fully restore the systems that were impacted by the cyber-attack we discovered on July 18. While we successfully prevented the cyber criminals from encrypting our systems – which would have locked us out so they could seek to ransom it back to us – they were, unfortunately, still able to steal a large amount of sensitive data.
We understand and share your concerns regarding this highly sophisticated cyber-attack as well as your frustrations with the service disruptions or delays you may have experienced in recent weeks. Rest assured, we remain steadfast in our commitment to completely restoring all city functions, supporting Columbus residents and strengthening our defenses against future cyber-attacks.
Although this remains a complex and rapidly changing situation, I am pleased to report that significant progress has been made in bringing our IT infrastructure back online. To date, 70% of the city's systems have been fully restored, while another 7% have been partially restored. Our goal is to achieve full restoration of all systems by the end of October.
At the same time, we are continuing to enhance our understanding of the specific circumstances surrounding the initial cyber-attack, and conduct data forensics to analyze what data was stolen and how many records may have been affected.
We will learn more in the days and weeks to come, but we want everyone who may have been impacted to sign up now for two years of free Experian credit protection, dark web monitoring and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance. As a reminder, this service is available to anyone who may have shared their personal information with the City of Columbus or municipal court – both residents and non-residents alike. Visit www.columbus.gov/cyber to enroll before the November 29 deadline.
Looking ahead, we will continue to repair the damage that was caused by this attack, build a stronger, more secure technological infrastructure and support our residents by empowering them with access to timely and relevant resources and information. Together, we will move beyond this challenging incident and emerge more resilient, more determined and better-equipped than ever before.
Sincerely,
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