The Heber, Utah, City Municipal Corporation's local IT network was breached in a ransomware attack by the Qilin ransomware group, according to a report published October 26.
The attack occurred on Saturday, October 10, prompting the city's IT team to take steps to stop and contain the breach expeditiously.
Mayor Heidi Franco stated that municipal systems are online and ready to serve residents, providing assurance that no public information is at risk. She noted that while the city is working through the aftermath and waiting for more information, the reaction time to the attack was quick.
City officials reported that the city's website, which uses a cloud-based platform, was not affected by the incident. Consequently, no essential services were suspended, and residents can continue to use online bill pay and other services associated with heberut.gov with confidence.
Heber City Police Chief Parker Sever stated that the attack did not impact the Heber City Police Department or the laptops in police vehicles. Sever noted that no records were affected because the city stores them separately and accesses them through county servers.
"We’re still able to get all of our calls for service and do reports and everything," Sever said.
While the Qilin group claimed responsibility and posted images of government financial records on its dark web leak site, the FBI is currently assisting with a forensic investigation into the attack.
Mayor Franco mentioned that the city is following protocols to allow professionals to assess the situation. No immediate information was available regarding how much the attackers were seeking.
