Ransomware Attack Paralyzes Services in Hamilton, Canada
The City of Hamilton, Canada, was hit by a ransomware attack in February 2024 that paralyzed municipal services and disrupted overtime pay for employees. The city decided not to pay the ransom, and incident-related costs reached 7.4 million Canadian dollars by August 2024. It later emerged that the city had known about serious cybersecurity weaknesses for years before the attack.
Key facts
- Affected organization
- City of Hamilton
- Incident type
- Ransomware
- Occurred / detected
- Not confirmed
- Scale of damage
- Paralyzed municipal services, disrupted overtime pay, and incident-related costs of 7.4 million Canadian dollars
- Cause / method
- Ransomware attack
- Location
- Canada
Timeline
- The City of Hamilton first confirmed that the incident that disrupted services was a ransomware attack.
- The union said employees' overtime pay was not being paid in the wake of the attack.
- The mayor said the city would not pay the ransom.
- Recovery costs for the February attack came to 5.7 million Canadian dollars.
- The city put its cumulative incident-related costs at 7.4 million Canadian dollars.
- It emerged that the city had known about serious cybersecurity weaknesses for years before the attack.
12 related reports
- Hamilton hit by ransomware attack, city says for 1st time since incident paralyzes services
- What do cities face when hit by a ransomware attack? Cyber experts explain, as Hamilton issue continues
- Hackers may have been spying in Hamilton network for months before cyberattack
- Hamilton cyberattack shows municipalities need to shore up digital defences: expert
- City workers not getting paid overtime amid Hamilton's ransomware attack: unions
- City believes personal data is safe during Hamilton cyberattack. Experts say that's unusual
- What to Do When Your Instagram Gets Hacked
- Hamilton not paying ransom but recovery from cyberattack ‘won’t be cheap,’ says mayor
- Hamilton spent $5.7 million recovering from February ransomware attack: report
- Cyberattack has cost Hamilton $7.4M so far, says city
- Hamilton knew of ‘critical weaknesses’ in cybersecurity years before ransomware attack
- Cybersecurity firm hired by Hamilton says director arrested by FBI didn't handle city's ransomware response
Other incidents at City of Hamilton
City of Hamilton denies personal data was shared in another data breach
Another data breach occurred at the City of Hamilton. The city said no personal information was shared in this incident.
Read on CTV News ↗Ransomware attack disrupts municipal services in Hamilton, Canada
Impact: Municipal services disrupted and automatic tax payments suspended
The city of Hamilton in Canada was hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted municipal services. On March 6, the recovery timeline remained uncertain, and on April 4, plans to resume automatic tax payments were announced.
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The summary and key facts are written by AI from related reports and may contain errors. Check the original articles and the organization’s official statements for accurate details.