- The city of Antwerp, Belgium, suffered a cyber attack that caused the city’s digital services to shut down, affecting administrational tasks.
- The officials launched an investigation but didn’t make any official announcements yet. The effect may last until the end of December.
- Some news sources claim that it is a ransomware attack that made digital services unusable.
The city of Antwerp has suffered a cyber attack and the city trying to restore its services which were disrupted during the attack. According to online news sources, the attacks caused the city’s digital services to be disrupted, which are used by citizens, schools, daycare centers, and the police. The officials launched an investigation but didn’t make any announcements yet.
Possibility of ransomware
According to various online news sources, the attackers managed to breach the city’s digital partner’s servers. The company, Digipolis, provides administrative software for the city of Antwerp. News sources also claimed that all Windows applications have been impacted.
Alexandra d’Archambeau, a councilor member for the district of Wilrijk, tweeted that she is feeling the consequences of a cyber attack directly for the first time. She also stated that the city’s email service is not working along with the online political decision-making platform. She also asked, “When will we finally make cybersecurity a priority in Belgium?” On the other hand, the officials stated that they don’t know when the system will be able to become fully functional and it can last until the end of December.
Another news source claimed that they have confirmed that it is a ransomware attack but the threat actor behind the attack is still unknown. The attack also impacted Antwerp Healthcare Company’s services. The company provides care services to seniors. Johan De Muynck, the general manager of Antwerp Healthcare Company stated that the software used to track who should get medications became useless and the organization has switched to pen and paper and relying on paper prescriptions.