Ottawa city government says it was victim of a cyber attack, says no data was breached

The Ottawa Police Department and the FBI are investigating a cyber attack in the form of a phishing scam in which the city of Ottawa and one of its contractors were victims.

There was no breach of data of any city accounts, said Ottawa Police Chief Brent Roalson.

Phishing scams often focus their attempts toward government agencies, municipalities and school districts, along with their vendors, Roalson said.

The police investigation determined other communities, such as Ottawa, had similar fraudulent thefts take place.

The fraud under investigation involves a company working legitimately with the city of Ottawa that was misrepresented online using fictitious accounts mimicking the company’s account that allowed the fraud to occur, Roalson said.

The initial investigation led Ottawa police to focus the investigation to institutions outside Illinois for the origination of the attack, according to Roalson.

Additional steps have been taken to reduce the city’s vulnerability for these types of attacks, Roalson said. Future payments from the city will require a “positive pay” system in order to reduce future risks.

“I would like to remind the public to be vigilant with your online data and information as we are all potential targets for scams and frauds,” Roalson said.