Morlaix hit by a ransomware attack

Bad luck for the city of Morlaix. The sub-prefecture of Finistère was targeted last Thursday by a computer attack, she said on her Facebook page. More precisely, the town of about 15,000 inhabitants was the victim of a ransomware attack.

As the mayor explained to the press, the two city servers were encrypted by cybercriminals, who had left a ransom note behind them. However, the municipality was able to count on a very recent backup, made the night before. But she could not yet certify that the encrypted data had not previously been stolen.

Fallen messengers

The city of Morlaix alerted the Anssi, the cyber-firefighter of the state, and filed a complaint. “The city is doing everything possible for a quick return to normal,” also specified the municipality, which suspended the use of its messengers. On the other hand, the physical and telephone reception still works.

Likewise, online services are always accessible. They are indeed hosted on a server of the agglomeration community, which was not affected by the incident. But if the portal is still accessible, the processing times may “however be longer than usual”, warns the city.

Prepare well

In the same region, the town of Betton had also been the victim of a ransomware attack, at the end of August. The municipality having refused to pay the ransom of $ 100,000 requested, the attack was followed by the dissemination of the equivalent of 2% of the city’s data, for example tax notices or rent receipts.

At the beginning of the year, Vincent Strubel, the boss of Anssi, recalled the efforts of local authorities on the subject of cybersecurity. They “put in place protective and protection measures”” he stressed. A preparation that then makes it possible to react quickly in the event of an incident and to limit breakage.