Specialists on the case as City of Fort St. John works to ‘slowly restore’ services hit by cyber attack

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. –  Cyber security specialists are on the case and services being “slowly restored” at the City of Fort St. John after it was hit by a cyber attack. 

On Tuesday, February 25th, the City of Fort St. John revealed it was dealing with a “cyber incident” which was “severely impacting” services such as emails and phone calls. 

At around 7.15 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26th, Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen gave an update on Facebook about how the city is working to overcome issues caused by the attack. 

She said recreation facilities are open and City Hall is now able to accept payments, but service capacity remains “extremely limited”. 

”At this time, we are working to slowly restore services,” said Hansen.

“Please continue to monitor the city’s website and social media for current information. We remain committed to regular and transparent updates.”

The cyber attack was initially announced on Facebook as a “network outage“. 

However, the city says as soon as the breach was identified, its staff immediately severed system connections to limit unauthorized activity.

Residents experiencing issues are encouraged to report problems by calling (778) 256-0076 or reaching out through the city’s official social media channels.