City of Wilmington protecting systems following two cyberattacks in Cape Fear region

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — After recent reports of cyber attacks affecting other municipalities in the Cape Fear region, the city of Wilmington has announced it is taking proactive steps to keep one of its public-facing systems safe.

On Wednesday, the city’s media mailbox system, which allows external viewing of emails, was taken offline.

In a statement to WWAY, the city said it’s taking this action out of an abundance of caution and there has been no security incident involving the system.

Recently, WWAY has reported on two cyberattacks in the area.

In December, $487,994.80 was stolen from Carolina Beach.

And last fall, more than $650,000 was stolen from Pender County due to scammers impersonating the Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority.

Ulku Clark, the director of UNCW’s Center for Cyber Defense Education, explained why municipalities are often vulnerable to hackers.

“They provide essential services and they operate within limited cybersecurity resources,” Clark said. “So they become, you know, good targets. So attackers also know that if they disrupt services, it creates pressure, they can collect fast payments from them.”

In a statement, Carolina Beach mayor Lynn Barbee said, “Going forward, we will certainly look to augment our capabilities and look for strategic partnerships with appropriate government agencies.”

Clark said these credible government agencies can serve as support for municipalities trying to shore up vulnerabilities within their operating systems.

“The National Guard Joint Task Force. They are doing an amazing job, uh, whenever an incident happens, they go and they assess the situation, they, you know, try to do instant response to the best level possible.”

The city’s security assessment is expected to be completed by late March.