Colorado-based Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) is struggling to recover from a devastating cyberattack last month that took down 90% of its internal systems and caused the loss of 25 years of data.
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In an update sent to customers this week, the company said it expects to be able to start accepting payments through its SmartHub platform and other payment kiosks during the week of December 6.
The company said it began detecting problems on November 7, and the cyberattack eventually brought down most of its internal network services. The attack affected all of the company's backend systems, payment processing, billing platforms and other tools provided to customers.
DMEA said the hackers targeted specific parts of the company's internal network and destroyed stored documents, spreadsheets and forms, indicating that it was likely a ransomware.
The attack even affected the company's phone and email systems, but DMEA said the power grid and fiber optic network were not affected during the attack.
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The energy company hired cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident, but a month later they are still facing recovery issues.
They created temporary payment arrangements to address the problems and suspended all fines and disconnections for non-payment until January 31, 2022.
Despite the damage to their system, DMEA claimed that no sensitive customer or employee data was compromised. But they now have to work through a “phased recovery approach” as they rebuild their systems.
DMEA CEO Alyssa Clemsen Roberts said the impact on their systems was “extensive” and that a large portion of their stored data, such as forms and documents, was destroyed.
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Saryu Nayyar, CEO of cybersecurity firm Gurucul, said utilities tend to have complex networks that often combine business operations with mission control.
Information source: zdnet.com
