The town of Isbergues, located in northern France, has been facing significant disruptions since Sunday, when it became the victim of a cyberattack. The attack has impacted the majority of the town’s services, with exceptions for the CCAS (Social Action Center), the media library, and the annexed town halls of Molinghem and Berguette. Immediate emergency measures were implemented in coordination with the Cyber Incident Response Centre (CSIRT) of Hauts-de-France and the national gendarmerie. As of Thursday, the technical team is still working on diagnosing the issue to understand its origin and severity, with no specific date for the full restoration of services.
While many services have been compromised, the town has been adapting by continuing operations in a modified manner. This primarily affects services within the town hall and technical departments. Despite the challenges of operating in a predominantly computerized environment, municipal employees have worked hard to maintain essential services as best as possible. However, citizens are encouraged to avoid contacting the town hall via email and instead use phone or in-person communication for urgent matters like school registrations.
The attack has raised concerns about the potential theft of personal data, and the town hall has acknowledged that some of this data may have been compromised. The town is urging citizens who have recently interacted with any of the town’s services to exercise caution when receiving emails, particularly those that appear suspicious. They recommend not opening attachments, clicking links, or responding to these emails, and also advise changing passwords and reporting any suspicious messages to the national cyber threat website cybermalveillance.gouv.fr.
Despite the disruptions, some services, including those at the CCAS, media library, and the annexed town halls of Molinghem and Berguette, are still operating normally. The Isbergues town hall has kept its citizens informed through its official communication channels, including its website and Facebook page, and promises to provide further updates as the situation evolves.
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