North Miami City Hall Reopens After Cyber Security Incident

A computer keyboard lit by a displayed cyber code is seen in this illustration picture taken on March 1, 2017. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters)

Florida’s North Miami City Hall reopened Monday after being shut down the previous week following a cyber security event that affected the city’s government network systems and disrupted services.

The city announced on Aug. 7 that a “cyber incident” had occurred, shutting down public access to city hall and limiting some services.

Mayor Alix Desulme posted a statement from the city on X on Sunday saying that city hall would reopen during regular business hours the following day.

“Our team has been working diligently to restore operations, and we appreciate your understanding and patience during this time,” the statement said.

Cybersecurity specialists were trying to determine the potential impact of the incident, with law enforcement agencies also assessing the situation.

“There have been rumors circulating on social media regarding the nature of the cyber incident and the potentially affected data,” the city said. “We want to emphasize that the investigation to determine the scope of impacted data remains ongoing.”

The North Miami Public Library remained fully open after the incident, with early voting activities unaffected, North Miami officials said in an Aug. 7 Facebook post.

The North Miami Building Department was also open and accepting permit applications. Officials resumed plan reviews, except for those submitted online. Building inspections and inspection scheduling were operational. Land use services such as business tax receipt processing and issuance, certificates of use, and development permits resumed as well, the post said.

The Neighborhood Services Department also opened to the public on Aug. 7, but with certain services unavailable. Hearings were postponed.

All scheduled passport services available through the North Miami City Clerk’s Office were also postponed.

OneBlood Cyberattack

This is the second cyber incident in as many months that’s affected Florida.

On July 29, the nonprofit blood bank OneBlood, which serves hundreds of hospitals in the Southeast region of the country, including Florida, was affected by a ransomware attack that disrupted its software systems.

To minimize the risks to blood supply, OneBlood asked over 250 hospitals to “activate their critical blood shortage protocols” and to remain in that status for the time being.

Immediately after the attack, the organization was running at a “significantly reduced capacity,” the group said.

To mitigate disruptions, the blood bank implemented “manual processes and procedures to remain operational,” said Susan Forbes, spokesperson for OneBlood.

On Aug. 8, the group announced that it returned back to the normal course of business.

OneBlood is currently processing and distributing blood products to over 250 hospitals at a normal output.

“We are grateful for the support we have received from the blood community during an unprecedented time for OneBlood,” Forbes stated. “The combined efforts from the task force, along with a tremendous response from OneBlood donors answering the call for blood and platelet donations ensured our lifesaving mission prevailed, no matter the circumstances.”