Borgholm

History

2022: Cyber ​ ​ attacks on the city's IT systems, due to which citizens cannot receive medical care

In mid-December 2022, a crisis situation was declared in the Swedish municipalities of Borgholm and Mörbilong after a cyber attack on their IT systems. Citizens cannot receive medical care, and doctors switched to pen and paper.

The invasion of the common IT system used by the two municipalities, which together make up the island of Öland with a population of just over 25 thousand people, was confirmed.

In Sweden, people cannot receive medical care for several days

According to the municipal manager of Borgholm, Jens Odedall, employees disconnected the official systems of both areas from the Internet as a precaution, and "external performers" for information security were involved in the aftermath of the incident. Odenall told the Olandsbladet newspaper that he was in contact with Swedish government authorities about the incident. It warned it could take several days for council systems to work again and that council companies were likely to be hit.

While Mörbylonga's site is unavailable, Borgholm's site is hosted by an external provider and is still available. However, a number of citizen services provided by both municipalities are now unavailable, including email and some health services. Medical facilities in the area have returned to using pen and paper, which Odedall said is common practice.

The nature of the incident as of December 17, 2022 was not disclosed. The hack follows a series of ransomware attacks ON targeting European municipalities, including the Belgian city of Antwerp.

On the website of Bornholm Energi, which provides a number of infrastructure services, including "the production and supply of water, electricity, heat" and "household waste and sewage," there is a warning: "Due to the IT attack that took place on December 12, 2022, as a security measure, we have shut down our IT systems, meaning it is currently not possible to contact us by email, and by phone we are available in limited numbers." A spokesman for Bornholm Energi could not clarify what impact the attack would have on the provision of these services.^[1]

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