The city of Coweta, Oklahoma, is fighting the effects of a system-wide ransomware attack that occurred on Wednesday. City officials immediately engaged their contracted IT provider and additional cybersecurity professionals to secure their systems, prevent further intrusion, and begin the recovery process.

Impact on City Services

The attack affected all city computers, files, and computer-based services, except the city’s website and its third-party online billing portal. City computer systems and files are not operable currently. However, the Coweta Police Department and Coweta Fire Department utilize off-site servers like LexisNexis and other systems for processing data, and those systems have not been affected by this attack. Emergency services, including 911, are operating normally.

The city said credit card and other payment data are not kept on city servers and were not accessed in the attack. Online bill pay through Xpress Bill Pay remains available through the city website and is safe to use. Xpress Bill Pay is a third-party service that is not hosted on any City of Coweta server and was not affected by the attack.

Because city computer systems are currently unavailable, credit or debit card utility payments can’t be accepted at City Hall right now. The city can accept payment by check for residents who prefer to pay that way rather than through the online portal. City staff can also personally assist customers who normally pay their bills in person by card and need help navigating the online bill payment portal.

The city has assured residents that they will not turn off anyone’s water for nonpayment while their systems are affected by this attack. They recognize the challenges and inconvenience this disruption is creating for their residents and are working as quickly and diligently as possible to securely recover their systems, restore their data, and return city services to normal operations.

Original reporting: Broken Arrow Sentinel — read the source article.