Regional district in South Okanagan recovering from ransomware attack

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen continues to recover from an attempted ransomware attack.

Regional district staff were alerted to the attempt on Aug. 11, isolating the district’s system network by taking email, internet and other services offline as a precaution.

The regional district said in a news release — posted to its website yesterday, Aug. 13, and not distributed to the media as is the usual practice — staff are currently exercising due diligence in addition to consulting with cyber insurance experts to make sure the integrity and validation of all systems before bringing them back into operation.

The regional district website is currently available but some of the functionality is limited, including some mapping and content access, the district said. Online payments are secure and continue to be accepted.

Staff are still unable to access email. Vendor payments and automatic withdrawals may be delayed. Utility accounts on pre-authorized payment plans have not had payments withdrawn.

It is not known when full services can be resumed.

Residents can check the regional district website here for updates or they can call the regional district office at 250-492-0237.

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