COLD LAKE - The City of Cold Lake is continuing to deal with a significant cyberattack that began July 23.
The breach caused widespread disruption, impacting phone systems, payment processes, and email communications across all city facilities, including City Hall, the Energy Centre, FCSS, Public Works, the marina, the golf course, and the transfer station.
“We have some new information and have made some progress in getting back up and running,” said CAO Kevin Nagoya, on Wednesday. He noted that the IT team has been working tirelessly to restore operations, successfully setting up various site-specific applications on alternate secured networks within the city.
While phone systems remain down, several payment systems have been restored. Residents can now use credit and debit cards at the Energy Centre, FCSS, and the Cold Lake Golf & Winter Club. The City requests that residents bring either an electronic or paper copy of their bills, ensuring that account numbers are readily accessible to facilitate payments.
As of right now, there is no evidence that personal or sensitive information has been compromised, as it is stored on separate servers. The City’s IT department has isolated the affected servers and is gradually setting up small terminals at various facilities to ensure business operations continue as usual, according to the City of Cold Lake.
The attack was traced to an IP address in Russia, but this may not reflect the true origin due to the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that can obscure the real source of the attack, according to the City of Cold Lake.
“It is still going to be days before everything is back online,” Nagoya explained. “Even then, it is possible things will not be completely restored, and some IT infrastructure may need to be replaced entirely.”
City facilities are open for in-person assistance while efforts to restore phone lines are underway. Updates will be provided as progress is made in addressing the cyberattack and fully restoring all systems.
