“Cyber ​​incident” in Ohio: What we know

Cleveland City Hall announced a temporary closure on Monday after a serious “cyber incident” compromised the city’s systems.

The city was forced to shut down most internal systems to prevent further damage and investigate a significant cybersecurity breach, with the extent of the damage not yet known. City employees were told Sunday evening that they would not be able to access most internal systems in the morning and that only essential and emergency services would be maintained, according to a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s office said: “The City of Cleveland is currently investigating a cyber incident and while we have not yet confirmed the nature and scope of the incident, we are taking it seriously.”

“As a precautionary measure, the City has shut down the affected systems while we focus on securing and safely restoring services. These systems will remain offline until we better understand the situation.

“All internal systems and software platforms will be shut down until further notice. City Hall and Erieview will be closed on Monday, June 10, except for essential personnel and normal business transactions will not be conducted with the public.

“We take cyber threats extremely seriously and are working hard to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. No further information is available at this time. We will provide updates as soon as they are available.”

As of Sunday evening, there has been no information about the cause and exact nature of the incident. Newsweek has reached out to Cleveland City Hall for comment on the situation.

The incident came just days after Cleveland Health Clinic warned that cyberattacks posed a significant threat, particularly to hospitals and medical systems. On June 3, Chief Information Security Officer Vugar Zeynalov said that “cyber incidents are no longer just about losing data. They are about losing patient trust, undermining security, and impacting medical care and patient lives.”

“Given our size and complexity and the number of possible attack vectors, we must assume that attackers can gain a foothold in our environment, just as they would in a real war.”

Cleveland City Hall has also closed its Erieview branch, which runs the health department, as well as employees of the Building and Housing Department. The closure affects all internal software platforms and impacts routine administrative functions.

Other services that will continue to operate include the Cleveland Police Department, Fire Department, Port Control and public utilities, which include electricity and water.

Despite the incident, Cleveland’s emergency services, airports and public utilities are still operating because they are considered essential. United Way operators will continue to answer the city’s 3-1-1 emergency calls during the day, even after business hours.