by Hamilton has been hit by a ransomware attack, which has had major impacts on city services for more than a week.
City manager Marnie Cluckie named the nature of the cyber attack for the first time during a virtual call Monday afternoon, along with Mayor Andrea Horwath. The call was the city’s first media conference since the breach began on February 25.
The incident shut down almost all city phone lines, paralyzed the city council and disrupted dozens of services including the bus schedule app, the library’s Wi-Fi and permit applications.
The city has not provided a timeline for resolving the matter.
“It’s impossible to know how long it will take us to fully recover again and again,” Cluckie said.
“I can tell you that we will only restore systems when we are confident that we can do so safely and securely.”
The city does not believe personal data was accessed, she said. Hamilton police have been notified and will be investigating.
Cluckie said she is very concerned about what is going on behind the scenes because the case is “sensitive” and would not reveal the amount of money the attackers want or their location.
The city has insurance coverage for cybersecurity breaches, she said.
Cipher has hired cybersecurity experts to respond to the attack, Cluckie said. Cipher provides forensics and incident response, as well as legal services.
Ransomware attacks can be ‘devastating’
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that “denies a user access to a system or data until a sum of money is paid,” according to the Canadian Center for Cyber Security.
The center, run by the federal Communications Security Institute, said the impacts of ransomware attacks could be “terrible” for the affected organization.
“Threat actors have become more stealthy in their operations by first accessing an organization’s infrastructure, including their communications systems, to identify critical systems, high-value data, personal information, and potentially damaging data your reputation if they were released to the public,” he said.
Paying the ransom does not guarantee that the system will be restored, the agency said.
Other municipalities have faced ransomware attacks in recent years.
When the small southwestern Ontario town of Saint Mary suffered a cyber attack in 2022, lawyers advised the municipality to pay a ransom of $290,000 in cash.
Al Strathdee, mayor of the town of about 7,000 residents, said the potential risk to people’s data was too high not to pay up. The town reported spending at least $1.3 million to investigate and recover from the attack.
The City of Stratford agreed to pay an attacker more than $75,000 in Bitcoin in exchange for decryption keys to unlock its information systems following a 2019 ransomware attack.
In a 2020 conversation with the director of Toronto Metropolitan University’s cyber security hub, Stratford’s mayor at the time, Dan Mathieson, said the cost of remediating the breach was “more than a million dollars.”
On Monday, Horwath told reporters that once the city’s systems are restored, Cluckie will conduct a full review to understand how the breach occurred and take steps to prevent it from happening again.
All council meetings have been canceled until at least March 15 because staff do not have the ability to work on day-to-day operations as if it were business as usual, Horwath said.
The Council is fortunate that the agendas were light until March Break, said Horwath. But they are also “very aware” that the longer they delay meetings, the more work there will be to do later.
Impact services
Here’s how services are impacted, according to the city:
Phone lines
-
All phone lines are boarded and counselors are down.
-
Provincial Offenses Administration phone lines are down.
-
The main telephone lines for long-term care homes in Macassa and Wentworth lodges are not working.
-
The Customer Contact Center is operating, with delays, and can be reached at 905-546-2489.
Online systems
-
Payments cannot be made on applications for fire prevention service, open burning permits, dog licensing, animal service donations or business licensing and permits.
-
Many services are not available including building permits, zoning verifications, property reports, job applications, marriage licenses or public health inspection results.
-
The farmers market website is below.
Engineering Services
-
Permits for road closures, trail closures, encroachments, utility installations and excavation permits are only available if submitted before February 25th.
-
Online draw requests are also pending.
Cemeteries
Libraries
-
Branches are open, loans are available, the website is working and personal programs are underway.
-
Services not available include Wi-Fi, public computers, printing, borrowing money using the library’s online catalog, shelf check-out kiosks, virtual programming, assistance with technology device maker spaces and expanded access.
Public health
Property taxes
-
Payments can be made at financial institutions or by post.
-
City Service Centers will accept cash payments.
-
Pre-authorized payments may be delayed.
-
Tax certificates for real estate closings are not available to lawyers.
-
There are online and offline tax tools including the Electronic Billing Portal, the Property Inquiry Tool and the Hamilton tax website.
Ontario Works and special supports
-
Monthly payments will be issued as scheduled.
-
Communication on the phone and online has an impact.
-
Residents inquiring about funeral benefits are advised to visit the office at 1550 Upper James St.
City sellers
Transfer stations and community recycling centres
-
Only cash is accepted.
-
Online tools for replacement bin requests, bulk collection requests, special consideration requests and ordering extra bin tags are not working.
Childcare
-
Fee subsidy offices are closed but staff are still available to support clients.
-
Red Hill Family Center is fully operational except for the phone lines.
-
Therapeutic referral intakes cannot receive faxed forms, but they can receive emails.
-
The online Childcare Registry is not available.
Transit
-
The HSR app is now offline and PDF schedules are available on the city’s website.
-
HSR email and phone lines are not working.
-
Bus operators do not have access to computerized timetables on board.
-
Bus stop announcements are not working.
-
Online booking for on-demand transit in Waterdown is in the works, as are PRESTO payments and DARTS services.
Hamilton Water
City mapping
Hobbies
-
Recreation and senior centers, arenas and golf courses are fully operational except for phone lines.
-
The Senior Center Without Walls program has been cancelled.
-
The swimming pool at Kanétskare Recreation Center is closed because the emergency telephone line is not working.
