City of Saint John hit by 'significant' cyber attack

There's been a "significant" cyber attack against the City of Saint John, according to a news release from the municipality on Sunday evening.

The city's 911 communication system is working, but other services such as online payments systems, email and customer service applications are all down. So is the city's website.

Officials with the city say they don't yet know whether any personal information stored on the networks has been compromised.

In the meantime, they're advising system users to regularly check their bank accounts and credit cards for any suspicious activity.

Saint John is now co-ordinating with federal and provincial agencies to try reduce any risk and "contain and eradicate the virus."

The city says it has no timeline for a full recovery, and until the issue is resolved it will not be accepting payments for municipal services such as water bills and parking tickets. No late fees will be applied.

The city is directing people to the Saint John Facebook and Twitter accounts for further updates.