OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Update (March 31): The city of Oak Ridge said it continues to investigate after its business operations were knocked offline due to a malware attack.
The city said it expects operations to gradually return in the coming weeks.
“Despite the attack, the services our citizens rely on every day, from Police and Fire emergency services to clean water and electricity, were not interrupted,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said.
At the moment, the city said it has not seen any evidence that any credit card information, taxpayer or customer information has been compromised.
A temporary webpage at the city's website has been created to list phone numbers to all city services and departments.
Utility billing services remain impacted by the outage. The city said it may take a few months to catch up.
“We are unable to send utility bills to customers right now and next month, many will end up receiving a bill which includes two months of service as we catch up,” said Deputy City Manager Jack Suggs. “We know this will disrupt our customers’ budgets and we will work with our customers to limit the burden, waiving fees and penalties and offering to spread the utility payments out over several months if needed.”
The city said its Utility Business Office is open and accepting cash and check payments for bills. People can also leave check payments in the drop box outside the UBO at 200 South Tulane Avenue. You can also call the office at (865) 425-3400.
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UPDATE (March 27): According to the city of Oak Ridge's website, they were still experiencing malware-attack-related network issues as of Monday. They said they were working with law enforcement to investigate the attack, as well as technical specialists who work in cyber recovery services.
They said the Oak Ridge Police Department and the city's fire department could still be contacted through 911, or through 865-425-4399 for non-emergencies.
They also said that they could not take payments due to the malware attack. They said late fees would be waived and disconnects would not occur while city leaders work to recover their computer systems.
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The city of Oak Ridge said it is experiencing network issues after a malware attack.
Officials said they are "working diligently" to get information and identify the impact on the city's technology systems.
The city and its Information Systems Department (IS) are working with law enforcement to investigate, according to a release. Technical specialists experienced in cyber recovery services are also working to restore services as quickly as possible.
Officials said Oak Ridge police and fire departments can still be contacted at 911 for emergencies and at (865) 425-4399 for non-emergencies. Those needing assistance with starting or reconnecting utility services can call (865) 425-3400.
The city said it will share more information as it becomes available.
"It's something that could happen to really any organization, at any point," said Slade Griffin, a cybersecurity expert.
He said that while malware could mean a variety of different types of malicious software, one of the most common is ransomware. With this kind of malware, computer systems and networks are effectively held hostage while hackers demand payment.
With this kind of attack, hackers may also threaten to leak data found on computer systems.
"I don't what the amount is they typically ask for. I'm sure it's not cheap though," said Griffin.
In 2021, the City of Knoxville paid more than $236,000 to clean up a ransomware attack — less than what the hacker demanded. They demanded $393,137 in Bitcoin, a kind of virtual currency with a rapidly fluctuating value.
"What happened in Knoxville, the extortion started with a threat of, 'We have your data and we won't give it back unless you pay us,' and then they started to leak the data online, but Knoxville was able to recover," said Griffin.
Oak Ridge has not said whether personal information was compromised.
"They probably didn't get credit cards. That's a little tougher. Now, social security numbers, in our tests those are a little easier to find," he said.
Tony Binkley with the Better Business Bureau said that people can protect themselves from data leaks by having credit card companies notify users when strange charges are made. He also urged people to keep an eye on their credit scores, to make sure their financial data hadn't been used to make purchases or take out loans.