Bar Harbor town officials announced Friday that town services had been targeted by a cybersecurity attack on Wednesday.
Once the attack was identified, town officials worked quickly to physically disconnect municipal electronic systems, according to a Friday press release. The town specifically disconnected the control systems that are used to monitor processes at the water and wastewater treatment facilities.
As of Friday afternoon, officials have not identified any malware or viruses affecting town services, and no town funds were lost. The FBI, along with the town’s insurance provider, has been notified of the system breach.
Out of an abundance of precaution, the town immediately froze all municipal bank accounts, and has opened new accounts with limited access permissions.
Town systems are under review and measures are being taken to strengthen data security.
Employees have been informed of the data breach and the potential that personal data was accessed, but the full impacts of the cyberattack were not immediately apparent. An investigation, in cooperation with the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, is underway.
According to town of Bar Harbor spokesperson James Smith, systems are being kept offline for now, and more information is expected to be available this weekend.
