A suspected cyber incident disrupted electronic water-bill payments in Big Spring, Texas, prompting the city to waive late fees and accept cash, checks and money orders.
The city disclosed the payment disruption Sept. 30. An Oct. 8 statement said cybersecurity specialists were investigating and helping restore municipal systems. The city has not confirmed an attack.
Credit cards, electronic bank payments and the payment kiosk were temporarily offline, according to the September notice. Finance Director Sandy Smith said late fees would be waived for late payments in the recent billing cycle.
“To prevent our citizens from being unfairly penalized, we have established a temporary policy update,” Smith wrote in the announcement.
Big Spring is the seat of Howard County in West Texas.
In the Oct. 8 statement, City Manager Todd Darden said the city took steps to secure its systems and enlisted outside cybersecurity specialists to investigate the disruption.
The specialists were helping with “containing the activity, and safely restoring affected systems,” Darden wrote.
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Investigators were still determining what information, if any, was affected, Darden said. The city said it would notify people if sensitive personal information was affected and notification was required.
Jefferson County, Missouri, also lost the ability to process transactions this month after officials shut down network and phone systems in response to a security threat they were investigating as a possible cyberattack. That incident also disrupted county business, including canceled planning and zoning meetings.
The Oct. 8 statement did not say whether electronic water-bill payments had resumed or give a restoration date. The city said further operational updates would follow.
