Wichita residents concerned with cyber attack
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Will my water get shut off if I can’t pay online? Is my personal info exposed in the City of Wichita cyber attack?
Wichita residents have a lot of questions as of Friday, and the city says it’s doing what it can.
“We ask for patience right now,” said city spokesperson Megan Lovely. “Believe me, we have a lot of people still working around the clock on this serious issue.”
Some are particularly worried about their personal information getting out on the dark web.
“I do pay bills online I pay a lot of my city stuff online. But I would want to know what public information was accessed,” said Wichita resident Danessa Stewart.
In response, the city said it is still addressing damages.
“We appreciate the community’s patience as we work through this incident as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. Incident recovery information and FAQs are accurate as to the time of the most current information release. For the most current updates, please continue visiting http://www.wichita.gov/Alert.
Others are asking about paying bills and the possibility of having some of their services not available or cut off because they can’t pay online with the City of Wichita.
“So I went to go change the address and things of that nature. And I had talked about wanting to make a payment on my bill so I would be ready to go at the new place, fresh and clean,” said Wichita resident Adrian Flowers. “And that’s when they said that they weren’t going to be able to make a payment that day.”
Council member Mike Hoheisel said on Friday cash is king when it comes to paying for some city services.
“Right now, we are essentially a city on a cash-only basis throughout many of our services,” said Hoheisel.
A statement from the city addressed some payments, like water.
“During the cyber security incident, we will not shut off water accounts. Those who have experienced a water shut-off may bring payment or proof of payment to City Hall, and their water will be reconnected. Anyone having difficulty paying their bill will not receive penalties or late fees until the cyber incident is resolved. Bills may still be paid via cash by coming to City Hall or by mailing payment. Customers looking to set up a new water account may do so by coming to City Hall. Auto payments are suspended for the time being. Those who have experienced a water shut-off may bring payment or proof of payment to City Hall, and their water will be reconnected. Payments to the Municipal Court may be made in person. At this time, only cash and check are being accepted,” said the statement on Friday.
Lovely also said there are some things about the attack the city can not discuss publicly. While some are asking if this could happen again and what is being done, Lovely referred to an official city statement for now.
“Staff are working diligently and will resolve the cyber security incident as soon as possible. The information technology department and its security partners continue to work around the clock to address the cyber security incident.”
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