Experts probe cyberattack on Town of Huntsville
Three days after it was the target of a cyberattack, the Town of Huntsville has begun restoring some of its services.
Huntsville's Town Hall reopened on Wednesday in a limited capacity after a cyberattack rocked the municipality on Sunday. Staff were forced to close the doors to municipal buildings on Monday and Tuesday amid the disruption to the Town's internal network.
"We are doing everything we can for what our protocol tells us what to do in this kind of incident," said Huntsville Mayor Nancy Alcock. "On Tuesday, we began bringing some of those servers, [and] I.T. programs back online."
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
A team of experts has been called in to investigate how the online attack happened and the extent of it.
So far, no evidence suggests any sensitive data, including personal information, had been compromised.
"Part of that ongoing investigation is to determine and confirm what kind of data has been compromised," the mayor added.
Huntsville is the latest municipality to suffer a cyber attack in recent weeks.
Last week, the City of Hamilton said it was working with experts to restore its systems after a cyberattack on February 25.
In Toronto, the Public Library and the City's Zoo are still trying to recover from attacks in October and January that exposed sensitive employee information.
"We've seen attacks against communications systems, the energy sector, logistics, you name it. They are being attacked right now across the private and public sector, and the pace is increasing," said Charles Finlay, executive director of Toronto Metropolitan University's Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst.
Finlay said the frequency of attacks against municipalities has increased over the last several years.
He urged all municipalities to establish a plan to respond to a cyber crisis and said it's not a matter of if but when an attack will happen.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has also asked members to expand their emergency preparedness planning to include cybersecurity protocols.
Meanwhile, Huntsville officials said more time is needed to determine how long a full recovery will take.
March break camps and scheduled programming will continue this week at the Canada Summit Centre, the Algonquin Theatre and the library.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
3 law officers serving warrant are killed, 5 wounded in shootout at North Carolina home, police say
Three officers on a U.S. Marshals Task Force serving a warrant for a felon wanted for possessing a firearm were killed and five other officers were wounded in a shootout Monday at a North Carolina home, police said.
'Shocked and concerned': Calgary principal charged with possession of child pornography
A Calgary elementary school principal has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities announced Monday.
Health authority confirms cockroaches at B.C. hospital, insists they 'do not bite'
The Vancouver Island Health Authority is downplaying what staff describe as a cockroach infestation in a medical unit of Saanich Peninsula Hospital.
Toronto police arrest 12 people, lay 102 charges in major credit card fraud scheme
Toronto police say 12 people are facing a combined 102 charges in connection with an investigation into a major credit fraud scheme.
Winner of US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
Britney and Jamie Spears settlement avoids long, potentially ugly and revealing trial
Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears will avoid what could have been a long, ugly and revealing trial with a settlement of the lingering issues in the court conservatorship that controlled her life and financial decisions for nearly 14 years.
WATCH 'Double whammy': What happens if you don't file your taxes by the deadline
The clock is ticking ahead of the deadline to file a 2023 income tax return. A personal finance expert explains why you should get them done -- even if you owe more than you can pay.