The city of Columbia, the capital of South Carolina (United States), has confirmed that it was the victim of a ransomware attack. City Manager Teresa Wilson announced it on Friday 23 October in a video on Facebook, according to local television station WIS.
The IT department detected suspicious activity on the network on Tuesday 20 October and alerted the state police (SLED), which is leading the criminal investigation, according to HERE Columbia. The city has also brought in outside cybersecurity specialists.
The MyColaSC app, the GIS mapping tools, park reservations and online payments for animal services, which the city deliberately took offline to limit damage, remain out of service. The animal shelter closed temporarily on Wednesday. Police, fire, 911, the water supply and the payment centre continue to operate, according to both outlets.
The city has not yet determined whether personal data was accessed and has not given a timeline for restoring services. No group responsible has been publicly identified and no ransom has been reported.
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