FBI Investigates Cedar Falls Ransomware Incident

Details about a startling incident involving the city of Cedar Falls is coming to light.

According to a report from Cedar Falls officials, there was allegedly some sort of ransomware attack in the month of June.

Officials have confirmed that on June 19th, 2024, the city detected this ransomware event.

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What Is Ransomware?

Ransomware is actually a type of malware. It holds a victim's data or device hostage until they pay up, according to IBM.

What Happened After Officials Found Out About the Event?

Once the ransomware attack was detected, Cedar Falls officials contacted cybersecurity professionals to conduct a 'privileged forensic investigation.

Legal counsel was also contacted around this time.

Officials report that the "unauthorized activity was limited."

Right after the ransomware event was detected, there was a short period of "controlled downtime" where some of the city's services were down. However, any and all services that were affected are back up and running.

The City of Cedar Falls is reporting that the attack did not affect their ability to provide public services.

Officials also confirm that they've reported this incident to the FBI, and there will be an investigation of the individuals responsible for the incident.

There is no word on whether the persons that were responsible for the event had any access to personal info. This is another key part of the investigation that officials are working to figure out.

This is currently an ongoing investigation. We will continue to keep you updated as more details and information is discovered.

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