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
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.