City Shuttered by Huge “Cyber Incident” That Brought Down Municipal Services

(PatriotPostNews.com) — Cleveland’s electronic infrastructure was attacked by cyber terrorists. The attack on this Ohio city shut down most online systems and forced a two-day shutdown of all non-vital systems.

The attack disabled internet-connected infrastructure for the city, including phone systems. However, phones, along with other critical systems, were quickly restored. Non-essential functions, however, were deliberately left offline to prevent further damage while cybersecurity experts worked to resolve the attack. Emergency services were not affected by the cyberattack. City officials said the second day of the cyber shutdown was done out of an abundance of caution, but emphasized that all vital systems have been restored.

On June 3rd, the Cleveland Health Clinic was warned by security experts that the medical facility was being targeted by cyber terrorists. Cleveland Health Chief Information Security Officer Vugar Zeylanov said that historically, cyber attacks focused on data collection, but have evolved into terror acts aimed at shutting down vital services to hospitals and other significant public facilities. He said he worries that the attacks will diminish patient confidence in medical care, and could even directly interfere with medical facilities’ ability to deliver care.

The attack also targeted city facilities in other locations, including Cleveland’s Department of Public Health as well as the Building and Housing Department. All no-vital systems were disabled to protect against the attack. City employees at all locations were informed that accessing city records and communications would not be possible until the City’s cyber security team had resolved the situation.

Zoylenov explained that the large scale of the Cleveland Health Clinic makes isolating cyber threats challenging or impossible. He likened cyber attacks to real-life warfare and compared cyber criminals embedding themselves in vital networks to foreign powers conquering territories in war.

Ascension Hospitals were hit by a similar cyber attack. Medical facilities across the United States are increasingly becoming targets of cyber attacks. Gone are the days when hospital attacks were unthinkable.