Leduc County investigating after Christmas Day cyber attack

LEDUC COUNTY -- Leduc County was the victim of a serious cybersecurity incident on Christmas Day.

County officials say that the incident has been identified as a ransomware attack and that it resulted in some of their information technology (IT) systems going offline. In response to the attack, administration engaged a third-party cybersecurity firm to support mitigation and investigation of the incident.

While their forensic investigation is not yet complete, work done to-date confirms minimal information has been affected.

"This is the type of incident no organization wants to go through," said Leduc County Mayor Tanni Doblanko. "Fortunately for the County, the attack was caught quickly and administration was able to engage experts, disable systems, and learn more about what we are dealing with."

Following the detection of the incident, Leduc County staff say they've notified key stakeholders, including the RCMP and the County's insurance and banking providers. Increased security measures have also been put in place. It's also noted that IT systems were proactively disabled during the ongoing forensic investigation.

"We understand residents and business stakeholders will want more information throughout the investigation, which we will share on our website as soon as it is available," said Mayor Doblanko. 

Currently, the County says they are completing the necessary work to resume normal business operations and that updates will be shared when available. This cybersecurity incident comes just months after a similar incident was experienced by the Town of Devon.