Ransomware Attack Cripples New Britain City Systems
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New Britain, Connecticut, confirmed a ransomware attack that breached city network systems starting at 5:00 AM on Wednesday 28th of January, encrypted the city data and locked out users out of their systems.
The attack forced city workers to use manual operations for over 48 hours.
Mayor Bobby Sanchez stated that the city is still mapping which parts of the network infrastructure the attackers hit. The FBI and state authorities are now leading a criminal investigation into the breach.
The following data types are under review for potential exposure:
- Resident personal information
- Confidential municipal records
- Internal city communications
- Financial and tax data
It's not clear if the hackers stole personal or confidential files before locking the systems.
Public safety services like the police and fire departments are active. The departments moved to manual backup plans to keep emergency responses running. The Department of Public Works also confirmed that trash collection, water, and sewer services continue without delay. The city is working with cybersecurity firms to clean and restore the network from backups.
