Eight members of the Ohio National Guard have been called in to assist following an attempted cyber attack on the city of Akron's computer servers.
The attempt, which the city says "appears to be financially motivated," was identified this past Tuesday before being "intercepted, and prevented." At this time, there is no evidence that any personal material was harvested or that there is any current risk to public safety.
The incident is currently under investigation. Officials say certain city operations could be affected and temporarily taken offline by these efforts, and that citizens will be notified should that occur.
Mayor Dan Horrigan issued the following statement:
"The Digital Age brings with it constant and ever-changing threats and we must remain vigilant and prepared. While this incident is ongoing, all current intelligence indicates that we were well-equipped and well-trained to address this malicious attack and that our employees took timely and appropriate action to prevent an attempted theft. Public institutions across the nation often are of particular interest to criminal actors, which is why the city has invested more than $9 million since 2016 in citywide IT infrastructure and maintenance. We will continue to monitor our systems and make necessary investments to protect public assets and citizen information."