KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The city of Knoxville's effort to get back onto its computer network after a ransomware attack is "ongoing" this week with help from industry experts, Communications Director Kristin Farley said in a statement Wednesday.
Some services have been disrupted as a result of the early Thursday attack. The network had to be shut down, and some departments have had to alter their response. The Knoxville Police Department has halted responding to non-emergency, non-injury accidents and directed the public to get reports from their insurer.
KPD also has been unable to provide the public with crime report numbers in their system.
COO David Brace said Friday he hoped most internal systems would be running as usual by early this week. The city has been operating on backup systems.
Farley didn't respond to a specific question about whether that's been achieved.
On Tuesday night Mayor Indya Kincannon told City Council much of what Farley said Wednesday.
Kincannon said the city was working to restore the system and said the response was ongoing. She said she'd provide updates when they became available. She expressed thanks to Chief Technology Officer Mark Parker.
Brace said the attackers have requested a ransom, although he's declined to say just how much.
The city told 10News no financial or sensitive personal employee information appears to have been compromised. The FBI is investigating.
Past attacks have at a minimum inconvenienced some local governments. Some cities such as Atlanta ended up spending millions of dollars to recover.
The FBI advises against paying a ransom. For one thing, there's no guarantee the target will actually get its data back.