Montclair Township experienced what is being called a “cyber incident” at the hands of a “criminal group,” Mayor Sean Spiller said Tuesday in a YouTube video.
In the video, Spiller stated:
“My fellow Montclair residents, I’m reaching out today because our township IT Department recently experienced a cyber incident. As soon as we learned of the incident, we properly retained third party specialists to investigate, and contacted the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, the FBI, Homeland Security and state law enforcement to identify the source of the attack, determine the damage and restore full operational function.
“At this time it appears that the criminal group that has attacked multiple other municipalities in similar fashion is responsible. The FBI, Homeland Security and the cyber security experts will continue their focus in confirming the responsible group and their next steps.
“Our township will remain focused on protecting the system and restoring full access to our systems and services.
“To be clear this cyber incident does not impact the safety and security of our voting systems, so if you’ve not done so already, please be sure to go out and vote during this time. We ask for your patience as some of our services may be delayed.”
Spiller went on to say that the township will continue to update residents as additional information becomes available.
So far the township has not specified what the incident entails and whether a ransom was demanded. The town has not indicated the extent of any damage or what preventive measures have been put in place.
Councilor-at-Large Peter Yacobellis released a statement saying, “If you’ve noticed any issues when trying to contact township employees, it’s because we’re dealing with a cyber security issue that is affecting our servers.”
He added, “Things like this are always a good reminder to just make sure your own digital lives are secure.”