Ransomware causes prolonged disruption to City of Hamilton services

The City of Hamilton identified a cyber incident on 25 February 2024 and subsequently confirmed that ransomware had encrypted city IT systems. Numerous municipal functions shifted to manual or reduced-capacity operation, with disruptions affecting customer-facing transactions and systems supporting permitting, licensing, financial and business management and other municipal functions. Critical water, wastewater, transit and emergency services continued operating, but broader service restoration extended for weeks and some systems and records ultimately proved unrecoverable.