City Manager: 'Weeks' of Work Before City Website Fully Functional

After suffering from a virus attack on its computer system Oct. 2, the city of Naperville is currently in the process of strengthening its website and email service.  

While the virus itself was quickly found and quarantined, city officials still have a lot of work left to do before they can fully relaunch their system.

“We have weeks and weeks of work (to do),” said City Manager Doug Krieger.

Krieger said virus attacks on the city’s system are common as the city gets about a half-million attempts to access their system every day from outside the firewall. But this attack was different as it came from the city’s side of the firewall.

An investigation has been conducted and is ongoing, he added.

The virus was quarantined and no personal information was compromised, but the city is still taking precautions.

“Additional firewalls have been put in place in an effort to prevent the incident from happening again,” Krieger said. 

The city was in the process of redesigning its website, which was expected to launch next year, but as a result of the virus, officials are now “accelerating” that target date.

For now, a temporary website has been set-up with links to city contacts, agendas, events and other general information.  

Krieger said he expects the city’s email service to be unavailable for the remainder of the week. To email the city during this time, an alternative contact address can be reached at cityofnaperville@gmail.com.

The city is also encouraging people to call 630-420-6111 or visit the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., with any questions while the site is down.

Information about the status of the city’s website and how to communicate with city staff via e-mail will be made available through the city’s other communication outlets, including government access TV station WCNC (Ch.6-WOW, Ch.10-Comcast, Ch.99-AT&T) and WPFP 1610AM.

Residents and other interested parties can also visit the city’s Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/NapervilleIL and Twitter account at www.twitter.com/NapervilleIL.