City of Wichita’s website affected by ‘cybersecurity incident’

Some services on the city of Wichita’s website may be inaccessible as it recovers from a cybersecurity incident over the weekend.

The city said in a statement Sunday afternoon that the incident has prompted an investigation by local and federal law enforcement. The city is not disclosing what group is responsible for the incident “for operational security purposes.”

Officials said the website was targeted by encryption malware, which locks up the user’s files and then demands a ransom in order for the owner to be able to access the information.

The city said it’s continuing to investigate what data from its website was compromised by the incident.

“Detailed assessments of these types of incidents take time,” an alert from the city read.

First responders throughout the city, like police and fire, are still able to provide services to residents.

The city is working with specialists to review systems before putting them back online. It did not provide a timeline for when its services will be fully restored, but said it would be done “on a staggered basis to minimize disruptions.”

The city did not immediately respond to questions about what services are currently offline.

Updates on the incident can be found at wichita.gov/alert.