The city of Mentor, Ohio, recently experienced a cyberattack, leading officials to temporarily take its hosted servers offline to safeguard sensitive data. As a result, phone lines for the Mentor Police Department and the Mentor Municipal Court will be operational again on October 27, 2023. Despite the incident, emergency services such as 911 and non-emergency dispatch remain unaffected.
In a statement, city officials emphasized that there is currently no evidence suggesting that private information has been compromised. They are actively working to restore their integrated systems to full functionality, which involves a comprehensive review of their data security measures. Initial disruptions affected phone services, but the city reports that all general lines have since been restored.
Restoration and Service Updates
While city services continue without major disruption, residents are advised that there may be delays in accessing certain data-related requests as restoration efforts progress. Some online services may not be immediately available during this period.
Should residents face challenges with specific services or have difficulty reaching the appropriate city representative, they are encouraged to use the main published phone numbers for the respective departments or reach out via email. A city representative will assist or connect them with the correct individual for support.
Future Communications
The city of Mentor has committed to keeping the public informed and will provide updates should any further service disruptions occur. As cybersecurity threats become increasingly prevalent, the city is taking this incident as an opportunity to enhance its digital security protocols while maintaining transparency with its residents.
For ongoing updates and more detailed information, residents are encouraged to monitor official city communications.