Access to Hayward's website mostly restored after ransomware attack, city says

HAYWARD, Calif. -- Public access to the City of Hayward's website has been mostly restored after a ransomware attack over the weekend, the City said Tuesday.

Hayward is continuing to "assess and recover" from the cybersecurity event that occurred early Sunday morning in which "intruders attempted to disrupt and hold hostage aspects and components of our computer systems and networks," the City said.

A ransomware attack occurs when someone encrypts files and demands ransom to decrypt them. The encryption makes the files and the systems that rely on them unusable, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

RELATED: Ransomware attack hits Hayward; city claims, so far, personal data is safe

Aspects of the city's site are still being gradually restored, the City said, and visitors to the site who encounter non-functioning links are encouraged to report them at info@hayward-ca.gov.

Hayward's emergency numbers and systems were never affected, the city said, nor were water, sewer, or other municipal operations.

"To date, we have found no evidence of a breach or theft of private personal or confidential information related to any current or former City employee, community member or other member of the public," said the city. "If that were to change, the City will contact the affected individual or individuals directly."

The City of Oakland was the victim of a ransomware attack earlier this year. The attack started Feb. 8. and the attackers crippled the city's information technology systems and demanded ransom to free the systems.

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