The city of Cold Lake is grappling with the aftermath of a significant cyber-attack that breached its online security systems on Tuesday, July 23.
The city’s CAO Kevin Nagoya, provided an update on the situation, highlighting the efforts made to restore services and the progress achieved thus far.
“We have some new information and have made some progress in getting back up and running,” Nagoya stated. “Our IT team has been working diligently and has been successful in standing up various site-specific appliances on alternate secured networks within the city.”
Despite the ongoing challenges, there has been some progress in restoring essential services. While phone systems remain down, several payment systems are back online and can now accept credit and debit payments. These include the Energy Centre, Family and Community Support Services, and the Cold Lake Golf & Winter Club. Residents are encouraged to bring an electronic or paper copy of any bills that need to be paid, as having the account number readily available facilitates the process.
Reassuringly, there is currently no evidence that personal or sensitive information has been compromised, as such data is stored on separate servers. The city’s IT department has isolated the affected servers and is beginning to set up small terminals at different facilities to allow business to continue as normal.
The attack was traced to an IP address in Russia. However, Nagoya cautioned that this might not reflect the true origin of the breach, given the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that can mask a user’s actual location.
“It is still going to be days before everything is back online,” Nagoya warned. “Even then, it is possible things will not be completely restored, and some IT infrastructure may need to be replaced entirely.”
In the meantime, city facilities remain open to the public for in-person assistance, and efforts are underway to restore phone lines. Residents can expect additional updates as the situation evolves and more systems are brought back online.
