City of Selma’s computer system hacked in cyber attack

The city of Selma’s computer system that is used for all city finances was hacked over the holiday weekend, the mayor’s office has confirmed.

Sometime Sept. 1 or 2, someone hacked into the New World computer system, which is used to keep records of all city deposits, spending and payroll information, including sensitive and private employee information such as addresses and social security numbers, according to Mayor Darrio Melton.

Melton said it is unclear what information the hacker or hackers have obtained and what their objective was at this early stage in the investigation.

When the security breech was discovered on the morning of Sept. 3, the city’s Information Technology Department immediately went to work to restore the servers, according to Melton. He said that while the servers were down, the city could not do any electronic business, like pay bills or make payroll, and this is payroll week. Melton said the police and departments use the computer system as well.

Melton said it appeared that during the holiday weekend “someone logged onto the system, so maybe someone in the city may know what transpired,” he said. “We hope to prove that it’s not an inside job.”

The computer system has been in place since 2000, and there have been no security breaches up to this point, Melton said.

Melton said the city has notified state and federal agencies about the hack in case they need to get involved with the investigation. Melton said recently it was leaked that there is already an ongoing investigation into the city’s finances by the Department of Public Examiners, and that Selma is being investigated by the Attorney General’s office. Information about such investigations is usually not made public while they are ongoing.

Melton concluded that whatever is uncovered by the investigation will be turned over to “the highest state and federal authorities to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”

Council President Cory Bowie echoed the mayor, saying he is aware that someone hacked into the system and the IT department is trying to recover the information. He also said the investigation is ongoing.  City Treasurer Ronita Wade has not yet responded to phone calls about the computer hacking.