Welcome to the 20th century. Since the cyberattack of which the city of Lille was the victim on Wednesday morning, all the computers of the town hall have been turned off and the staff has been working in the old fashioned way: telephone and walking. According to the elected, this “old-fashioned” mode of operation will last at least three more weeks.
“All messaging has been deactivated as a precaution,” said Audrey Linkenheld, first deputy mayor of Lille, during a press briefing this Friday. It had been a long time since the employees had crossed paths in the halls of the town hall.
Free leisure
This human noria would have almost sympathetic sides if the computer intrusion did not have financial consequences still difficult to calculate for the city. “We have decided to leave the museums, the swimming pools and the zoo open without ticketing for the moment. We are doing calculations to find out if it is profitable to organize a manual ticket office, ”explains the elected official.
In the meantime, visiting the sites remains free. But for how long ? The elected official did not wish to decide on a date. “Only the museum will indeed be free on Sunday, but like all the first Sundays of the month”, specifies the chief of staff, Mélissa Menet.
Today, municipal services therefore operate “in degraded mode”, at least without the help of IT. “But they all work”, insists Audrey Linkenheld. The town hall’s telephone switchboard must also be put back into service on Monday. “Following our complaint, the police investigation is still underway to find out who was responsible for this intrusion,” said Audrey Linkenheld. And we should know the technical diagnosis of the damage on Monday or Tuesday. »