The LockBit 3.0 cybercriminal gang claimed the recent ransomware attack, which has taken down the services and email account of a small town in Canada. The ransomware actors have given the city at least a week to provide their asked ransom.
The affected town is called Westmount, a small Quebec City home to more than 20,000 residents.
Based on reports, the city’s email services were not accessible because of an unidentified computer disruption. The town later admitted that a targeted cyberattack caused the disturbance.
The town’s mayor stated that cybercriminal campaigns have become more active and sophisticated in every country. Hence, all aspect of society is susceptible to cyberattacks despite the efforts of cybersecurity defences.
The mayor has then assured that all their teams will put their best foot forward in dealing with the current attacks to ensure the well-being of their citizens. However, the city government did not comment on the cybersecurity attack’s nature and extent.
A digital news agency in Canada said that the city’s head disclosed that the town has encrypted servers but did not know the culprit of the attacks. They are still studying the infected servers and do not have any communication with any third-party investigators.
The LockBit 3.0 claims responsibility for the shutdown of Westmount services.
The ransomware group called LockBit 3.0 admitted that they were the ones who attacked the Canadian city in Quebec and revealed that it had downloaded 14 terabytes worth of critical data. The LockBit group, a RaaS gang, stated that they would release the stolen information if the town decided not to pay the ransom.
The group operators showed screenshots that portray files from different departments of the town’s government. The screenshots were the group’s proof that they had compromised the city, but the information security group have yet to confirm the claims immediately.
Fortunately, Westmount’s official website was not impacted by the ransomware attack, and the town assured everyone that they would post an immediate announcement if they had resolved the current issue.
