A cyberattack continues to keep the City of St. Paul's digital infrastructure down but Mayor Melvin Carter says they're working diligently to investigate the attack and contain the damage.
Carter tells the WCCO Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar that the Minnesota National Guard, activated by Governor Tim Walz Tuesday, is helping to get systems recovered.
"And we'll have work to do to rebuild some of the systems because some of the things that we're shutting down and learning aren't as simple as just sort of pressing, you know, start again," Carter explains. "Some of the infrastructure that we're shutting down has to be sort of reconstructed, but it's important stuff to do out of an abundance of caution."
The city remains under a state of emergency. Carter adds that it's not clear why St. Paul was targeted.
He also says it's unclear how long the disruptions will be felt as they try to avoid any potential setbacks.
"I'm also very concerned about the possibility of data having been stolen when actors were inside of our system," Carter said. "So we're advising our city employees to take precautions both in their personal and professional capacity to protect the digital identity."
St. Paul's 911 and other emergency systems remain online. Online payment systems, as well as computers at city libraries and internet at city buildings remain offline.
“We are the victim of a serious crime,” said Office of Technology and Communications Director Jaime Wascalus. “In response, we have mobilized every available local, state, and federal partner to support our investigation and response efforts. We continue to assess this situation in real time.”
The FBI is also helping investigate the cyberattack. Wascalus said the attack brought city business to a halt.
Carter says they shut down the internal system Monday to prevent the spread of an attack that started late Friday.
"This was a deliberate coordinated digital attack carried out by a sophisticated external actor intentionally and criminally targeting our city's information infrastructure," proclaimed Carter.
While the city’s network remains offline as a precaution, all mission-critical operations, including emergency response and public safety services remain fully operational.
The full extent of the attack, including whether any sensitive information was accessed, remains under investigation.