A potential cyberattack targeted a computer in the Hinsdale Public Services Department, but no village data was ever comprised.
The incident occurred at 8 a.m. Oct. 30 when a Public Services employee clicked on a message that said computer files had been encrypted. The message then demanded money to unencrypt the files at which time the employee reported the incident to authorities.
“We followed up right away and found that it was isolated to just one computer,” Hinsdale Deputy Police Chief Kevin Simpson said. “The employee clicked on a link associated with malware. The computer was wiped clean; and it was determined that there was no data digging, nothing taken off the computer system.
“We investigated it quickly and are happy to report that nothing was comprised.”
Village Manager Kathleen Gargano confirmed that the malware attack was an isolated incident.
“No information was compromised as the virus was only on that single computer,” Gargano said in an email.
Simpson likened the incident to any computer scam where individuals are targeted to send funds or bank account information.
“There was no real threat to the computer,” Simpson said.
The deputy chief said finding the individual or individuals who sent the malware is a difficult task.
“There are so many layers of camouflage they use,” Simpson said. “Unless we could link to the IP address used to send the message, we couldn’t get to the individual.”
Once the matter occurred, Simpson said, the employee acted properly, being very cautious and reporting the incident so it could be documented.
Dawn Wucki-Rossbach, acting assistant director of public services, would not answer questions about the incident, directing all inquires to the Police Department.