No timeline for service restoration after Winston-Salem cyber attack

Nearly two weeks after a cyber attack crippled much of Winston-Salem’s online infrastructure, city officials still don’t know when services will be restored. 

The December 26 incident shut down the online utility bill pay system and CityLink phone service. At a City Council meeting Monday, Winston-Salem City Manager Pat Pate said staff has been working around the clock to bring systems back online. 

“We do not have an estimated date and time for when that will happen, but we hope that it will happen quickly," he said. 

The city is pausing utility late fees and service disconnections due to the incident. CityLink is still available via online chat or text message. 

Pate didn’t offer details about how the attack occurred, but said it wasn’t unique to Winston-Salem.

“Almost all the other major cities in North Carolina have been hit with an event similar to this in the past several years, some of them in the past year," he said. 

Pate says state and federal agencies,  including the North Carolina National Guard, are responding to the incident.