A suspected cyber incident disrupted utility bill payments through Arkansas-based CUSI beginning Oct. 10, blocking account access and forcing some customers to use cash or checks.
CUSI, short for Continental Utility Solutions Inc., is based in Jonesboro and provides billing software and customer payment portals. Notices from utilities in Texas, Illinois, California and Colorado document disrupted services, though the company has not explained the cause or full scope.
Kempner Water Supply Corporation in Texas attributed its disruption to a security incident at its third-party processor. Its Oct. 13 notice said: “Our third-party online payment processor experienced a security incident over the weekend, resulting in disruptions to our online payment portal.”
Kempner’s payment portal identifies CUSI as its platform provider, but the utility’s notice did not identify the processor involved in the security incident.
At Culleoka Water Supply Corporation in Texas, the disruption initially prevented both payments and basic account access. The utility said CUSI notified it of a wider outage Oct. 10.
“During the outage, customers cannot access the online portal to view their accounts, make payments, or create new logins,” Culleoka said. Customers could leave payments in the utility’s drop box.
The village of Hopedale, Illinois, also reported that its CUSI water and sewer payment portal went down over the same weekend.
In Colorado, Penrose Water District’s Oct. 13 notice said CUSI had taken customer portals offline Oct. 10 and directed customers to pay by mail, in person or through a drop box. The district said CUSI had told it that submitted payments were processing as expected. “The problem is with how payment information moves between their systems,” the notice said.
Recovery differed by payment function. Culleoka restored account access and account payments Oct. 12, while guest Quick Pay and telephone payments remained unavailable. It reported all issues resolved Wednesday. Hopedale said its portal was working Tuesday, and Kempner announced Thursday that both QuickPay and registered-account payments had returned.
In Camarillo, California, Pleasant Valley Mutual Water Company directed customers to cash or checks after CUSI confirmed a known issue affecting online payments, including Quick Pay. Its undated notice gave no restoration estimate.
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McCoy Water Supply Corporation in Texas said Oct. 13 that Quick Pay was unavailable while CUSI’s billing team added security protections. Customers could register for account access or use alternative payment methods.
The disruption follows another payment-provider incident earlier this year. In February, a confirmed ransomware attack at Florida-based BridgePay disrupted merchant card processing and municipal payment portals, including utility billing in Palm Bay, Florida, and Frisco, Texas. Ransomware has not been established in the CUSI incident.
CUSI did not respond to a request for comment. A complete affected-customer count and a vendor-wide restoration date remain undisclosed.
