The City of Wheat Ridge provided the Neighborhood Gazette the following statement on the recent “ransomware” incident.
The City of Wheat Ridge is still in the process of restoring its systems after IT Professionals proactively took down aspects of the network in response to a cyber security incident in late August.
Immediately following the incident, the City deployed a team of independent experts and federal agencies to investigate the matter. The investigation has confirmed this is a ransomware incident from the sophisticated foreign agent, BlackCat. No ransom has been paid.
At no time was resident safety impacted. The PD, Emergency 911 calls, as well as many other city services have remained operational throughout the incident. The investigation on the impact of personal information for employees, businesses, and residents is ongoing. The City is prepared to act immediately once any potential impact is confirmed.
“This event is unfortunate and has placed a strain on our staff but because of their hard work and ability to adapt, resident impact has been minimal. We would like to thank our council and residents for their support during this time. We will keep you updated as we continue to restore operations,” said City Manager Patrick Goff.
There is no timeline for a complete restoration. More information on impacted services and ways to contact the City can be found [at]: https://www.ci.wheatridge.co.us/1855/Wheat-Ridge-Municipal-System-Outage.
