The City of Albuquerque Still Investigates Anonymous Cyber Attack

The City of Albuquerque is still working with the major cyber attack that shut down some online pages over the weekend. The cyber attack was done as a protest against APD over the controversial shooting of James Boyd in the foothills.

The group announced in a video online last week “APD you now have the full attention of Anonymous.” In a planned online protest the international group, Anonymous, which is known for hacking into government websites, hit Albuquerque.

Peter Ambs, Albuquerque Chief Information Officer explained, “You know the city’s a big target when it comes to hackers and cyber crime situations but to this extent we've never experienced anything of this magnitude.”

According To KRQE, Political activists blackened APD’s website Saturday night and caused problems with the city’s site, keeping the city from collecting on parking tickets and paying vendors.

“We’ve got all of those processes, online processes are now restored to their full capability,” said Ambs.

Anonymous video stated the “Let them know that your city is not a place for war games against the homeless and the less fortunate.”

Ambs said the city can’t elaborate on who’s helping with the investigation because of security concerns.

But even if Anonymous stays anonymous, the city says it has learned a lesson. “We are going to maintain a much higher security posture, a much higher vigilance when it comes to what the possible threats and attackers are capable of,” explained Ambs. “Certainly this has been a learning experience that’s going to make us better going forward.”

Ambs said the city is still assessing the total cost for fixing everything after the attack, adding, they did have to pay a lot of overtime.

Author Venkatesh Yalagandula Follow us Google + and Facebook and Twitter