Ransomware Attack Disrupts Coweta City Systems and Services

Summary

A ransomware attack on August 5 disrupted Coweta’s computers, files and most computer-based services. The city says emergency services and online bill pay remain operational, and it is assessing possible data access and restoring systems from offsite backups.

Key points

• The City of Coweta said a system-wide ransomware attack occurred on August 5.
• City computers, files and most computer-based services were unavailable.
• The city said 911, police and fire services remained operational through unaffected offsite systems.
• The city said payment data was not stored on its servers and was not accessed; assessment of whether other data was accessed was ongoing.
• Officials engaged IT and cybersecurity specialists, reported the incident to authorities and planned to restore files from offsite backups after systems were cleared.
• The city website and third-party Xpress Bill Pay service remained available and, according to the city, were unaffected.