Flint, Mi - The City of Flint has been under consistent cyber-attack since at least October of last year.
The Ascension hospital network has 140 hospitals across 10 states, one of which is our own in Grand Blanc Twp. On May 8th the staff were cut off to vital systems of health records, certain VOIP phone lines, and systems that schedule Operating Procedures. To remedy the situation as quickly as possible, Ascension healthcare paid out 22 MILLION dollars to the hacker group to regain access to their systems.
The McLaren healthcare network is still in the recovering stages of its 2nd cyber-attack within a year which happened on August 5th. Last year in October McLaren suffered its first ransomware attack in which Russian speaking cybercriminal gang ALPHV-BlackCat has taken credit. The investigation regarding its most recent attack is ongoing.
Yesterday August 14th at 9:30AM the City of Flint made a post alerting the city that they are experiencing a Network Outage and that certain functions of the City's website would not be functioning. That brings us to today August 15th, when the City of Flint made their most recent update public:
The full extent of damage has yet to be determined. I will be bringing you further updates and more details as they are uncovered!
UPDATE: August 16th, 2024
Here is a breakdown of the current known impact:
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬
This list of service impacts will be continuously updated on the City website as progress is made with the network disruption. For updates, visit: https://www.cityofflint.com/internal-network-and.../
We expect gaps in service and continuous changes, and we appreciate residents’ patience as we work to fully restore service.
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲
Emergency services, including 911, dispatch, law enforcement, and fire operations, are fully operational and unaffected.
𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
• The City of Flint is able to receive payments by cash and check only at this time.
• The City of Flint’s BS&A system is currently offline and the City is unable to receive online or credit card payments for water, sewer, and tax payments.
• No late fees or penalties will be assessed, and no water shutoffs will happen during this time period.
𝐄𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥, 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥
• Some City employees are able to access email.
• The City phone system is experiencing gaps in service. Please call during normal business hours and be patient if you are not able to reach us right away.
• Voicemail is working intermittently, and some messages may have been lost.
• View the City Directory: https://www.cityofflint.com/city-directory/
𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬
The City’s website, CityofFlint.com, is hosted on a separate server and is generally intact for visiting and navigation. Some linked platforms are unavailable, including BS&A (the City’s billing system) and GIS maps.
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬
Public Works services are fully operational, including waste collection, street maintenance, water and sewer utilities, and blight elimination.
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡
The Office of Public Health is fully operational. Flint residents can pick up free water testing kits and water filters at Flint City Hall or the City of Flint Service Center on Clio Rd.
-Rob
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