(cover photo courtesy Marte Media)

InisdeLowell has learned that Lowell City employees received a detailed memo this afternoon providing an update on what is still being called a “cyber event.”

The memo spells out the operational status of Lowell’s Management Information Systems (MIS), while also providing a detailed rundown of the city’s response to the incident since the early morning hours of April 24, and offering advice to management and staff on how to protect themselves.

Among the information gleaned thus far from the document;

The claim by the ransomware group “Play” that they have exfiltrated data, and released a portion of it, is “being monitored by a variety of agencies and waiting to be further assessed.”

To this point, 95% of city telephone services have been restored and Munis applications are also 95% available. Other components are progressing at a much more deliberate pace, with only 20% of Server systems available. 10% of Desktop PC’s have been deployed after being collected and wiped, though that pace is expected to accelerate in the near future.

As for how to protect themselves, the memo strongly advises workers to participate and complete cybersecurity training. It states Lowell has participated in such training for years, but “continues to find a low completion rate across the board.”

Vigilance is also urged in monitoring personal accounts. To assist on that end, late last week InsideLowell reported the city was working our details to offer LifeLock coverage to employees.