The federal agency that provides low-income housing in Indianapolis is facing a ransomware attack that’s delayed its ability to send out rent payments to landlords, a top agency official says.
All employees of the Indianapolis Housing Agency lost access to their email during the attack, which began weeks ago. That includes its executive director, Marcia Lewis, who lost access to her email for days but regained access to it Tuesday, The Indianapolis Star reported, citing an email she sent the newspaper.
Lewis said an investigation by information technology security experts, law enforcement, and the agency’s IT service providers is underway, and the attack was still ongoing as of Wednesday.
The housing agency has not released details about the motive or identity of the individuals behind the ransomware attack, which uses malware to lock up a victim organization’s files and leverage the information for a payment.
The attack delayed the Indianapolis Housing Agency’s ability to send out October rent payments to landlords for the federal housing choice voucher program, also known as Section 8, which 8,000 Indianapolis families depend on.
