Hamilton's website back online after crash due to cybersecurity measures, officials say

In an effort to respond to problems created by a ransomware attack from more than two weeks ago, city of Hamilton staff unintentionally brought down several of the city's websites.

As of Monday morning, Hamilton's main page was back online, but Engage Hamilton and Open Hamilton remain unaccessible, the city posted on social media at 9:30 a.m. 

The incident began just after 11 a.m. on Sunday. City media relations officials said in a news release that the site had crashed. and that there were "limited details to identify the cause."

After 5 p.m. on Sunday the city sent another release saying the city's main website "including its various extensions and other city-related websites became unavailable due to precautionary system changes made by City staff in response to the ongoing cybersecurity incident. The website outage was not a result of a new cybersecurity event." 

The email said staff were working to fix the problem and get the sites back up. It also said that while the city responds to the cybersecurity incident, "unfortunately, some other disruptions may be felt before we reach full restoration."

Engage Hamilton is where the city posts information about projects and initiatives and where the public can share their feedback. Open Hamilton provides an interactive map with ward-by-ward data.

On Feb. 25 the attack shut down almost all city phone lines, paralyzed city council and impacted dozens of services including the bus schedule app, library WiFi and permit applications.

"It's impossible to know how long it will take us to get fully up and running again," city manager Marnie Cluckie said last Monday. "I can tell you that we will only restore systems when we are confident we can do so safely and securely." 

The city does not believe personal data has been accessed, she said. Hamilton police have been notified and will be investigating.

Cluckie said she's been tightlipped about what's happening behind the scenes as the situation is "sensitive" and would not reveal the amount of money the attackers are asking for or where they're located. 

The city has insurance coverage for cybersecurity breaches, she said. 

It's hired cybersecurity experts at Cypfer to respond to the attack, Cluckie said. Cypfer is providing forensics and incident response, as well as legal services.