Cybersecurity Update: Customer service improvements and operational progress

HAMILTON, ON – The City of Hamilton continues to make steady progress and build on customer service improvements as part of recovery and restoration efforts from the cyber incident. 

“As we continue to take a customer-centric approach to restoring services, we are making meaningful progress in the City’s recovery from the cyber attack. Hamiltonians remain at the centre of our efforts, and while this journey continues to take time and resources, I am confident it will deliver long-term advantages,” said Mayor Andrea Horwath.

A customer-centric approach to operational progress

With its deliberate enterprise-wide approach to the cyber response, the City remains focused on best meeting the needs of the community and staff. Most core programs and services continue to be delivered, with a commitment to prioritize critical systems, limit service disruptions through short-to-mid-term mitigation solutions, and make additional applications and associated services available as soon as it is safe and secure to do so.

The City has now restored 61 per cent of its total applications and 70 per cent of its critical applications. This is up from 45 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively, as the City disclosed in a June 2024 report. Most recently, the City has resumed the following services:

• Coordinated service delivery for homeless-serving partner agencies: support day-to-day operations for homeless-serving providers in the community through the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) database, which will ensure individuals and families accessing services are prioritized and referred to appropriate services.
• Bus locator: deliver more efficient and timely service to residents through the ability to monitor the location and schedule adherence of buses. 
• Digital bus sign at Frank A Cooke Terminal: provide real time bus schedule information for the terminal through the digital display.
• Hamilton Water backflow self-assessment form: provide the ability for industrial, commercial, and institutional customers to complete an online fillable form that can be submitted via email as a temporary solution until the system is restored. Backflow Self-Assessment Fillable Form (PDF)

Additionally, the City expects the following service to resume in the coming weeks:

• Modified Zoning Verification: Information about the zoning and permitted uses of a property will be available by requesting a Zoning Verification Letter, which will be provided at a reduced fee. 

Updated costs

The City of Hamilton presented an updated Cybersecurity Incident Impact Update Report (CM24004(a)) at the August 16, 2024 Council Meeting that included costs related to the City’s cyber incident. 

As outlined in the public report, the City has incurred cumulative cyber incident-related costs of approximately $7.4 million since the onset of the cyber incident on February 25 through to July 24, 2024. This is a $1.9 million increase from the $5.7 million disclosed in the initial cost report (CM24004) released on June 19, 2024.

Overall costs to date are predominantly related to immediate and critical infrastructure, third-party support, and cyber security enhancements. The cybersecurity incident significantly affected the City’s complex technology infrastructure of 231 unique applications that support approximately 8,000 full-time city employees, nearly 600,000 residents, and upwards of 7,000 business partners.

“We are committed to building our systems back stronger, with a focus on enhancing the experience for our customers. This initiative is about more than just recovery; it’s about creating a more resilient and efficient city,” said Marnie Cluckie, City Manager. “I’m incredibly proud of our staff’s dedication during this challenging time and their ongoing efforts to support our community.”

Next steps

The City is undertaking detailed analysis to determine the full extent of the financial and operational impact of the cyber incident, and the resources required, for the City to achieve its vision of building back stronger and better. The City remains committed to minimizing the impacts on the tax levy and rate budgets. Wherever possible, the City plans to leverage previously approved funding for technology and security-related projects, consider appropriate reserves, and reprioritize capital projects.

For the latest information and answers to frequently asked questions, visit hamilton.ca/cyberincident.