Bella Vista to reopen city offices following cybersecurity incident

BELLA VISTA, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The city of Bella Vista says its offices and library will reopen to the public at its normal time on Aug. 27 after they were closed for several days due to a cybersecurity incident, according to a press release.

The city’s Information Technology Director John Moeckel said he is pleased with the progress being made, but work still needs to be done.

“We have determined all infected devices and are at 100% containment,” he said. “We have not paid any ransom and restorations are proceeding forward.”

Moeckel says he has not been alerted of any breach of personal information.

All of the city’s network systems including internet and phones were shut down on Aug. 19 after a possible cybersecurity attack was identified on Aug. 18 through a system that monitors the city’s cybersecurity.

Offices were closed to the public and the release says employees worked remotely throughout the week.

The city says police and fire response was not disrupted since they operate on an unaffected separate system.

“One remarkable result of an event such as this was that it was not crippling to the city’s operations as one may expect,” said Mayor John Flynn. “Because of the pandemic’s widespread shift to remote work, we were able to maintain continuity within the city and still serve our residents.”

The city says it is insured against cyber threats through the Arkansas Municipal League. It says it has been following the AML’s guidance for restoration which has been in phases including containment, forensic investigation and recovery.

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