Work to restore regional district computer network continues after ransomware attack

The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen continues work to restore their computer network following a ransomware attack six weeks ago.

Regional district staff were alerted to the threat on Aug. 11, isolating the system network and taking email, internet and other services offline as a precautionary measure.

The regional district said today, Sept. 21, information staff continue to work on the network, with many of the systems now restored including email and general mapping. Most of the regional district email addresses, including those of the directors, are active as of today.

The cost of the ransomware attack won’t be known until the network is completely restored, but the regional district said it had cyber insurance which is covering the bulk of the costs.

Directors who were using their own emails during the attack have since had their emails restored. All regional district correspondence and communication will be brought back into the system and stored internally.

No confidential information was shared with directors via their personal email accounts.

The regional district could not provide a timeline for full restoration of the computer network.

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