COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the City of Columbus continues to struggle with technical issues due to an employee clicking a malicious link, Cleveland just got done dealing with a similar issue.
Last month, Cleveland dealt with a ransomware attack and the city was forced to shut down all access to external communication and closed city hall for nearly two weeks.
"We closed our system for roughly 11 days to really manage and contain and it gave us ample time to restore our systems safer and securer environment," Bibb said.
Bibb did not say if the city paid off the ransomware but said they learned a lot.
Number one, you have to over-communicate with your employees and your residents. Number two, when there are state and federal and other local enforcements on board, take it. It truly requires an all-government approach at every level," Bibb said.
The Columbus police and fire departments are still limited in what they can access in their cruisers and fire trucks.
Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther wouldn't confirm if the city is experiencing a ransomware attack but said that the incident is under investigation. He added the city is trying to learn from this incident.
"Trying to figure out what happened, how we can prevent it from happening in the future and steps we need to take in the meanwhile to protect the information of our employees and our residents," Ginther said.
Ginther said the city is sending a message to all city employees tonight telling them to change their password and how to keep themselves protected.