Leduc County restores email three weeks after Christmas Day ransomware attack
Leduc County says its email, online permitting portal and website forms were back in service on Jan. 16, three weeks after a ransomware attack it discovered on Christmas Day.
Municipal governments remain a frequent ransomware target because they run many services on small IT teams. Leduc County, south of Edmonton, says it has not yet determined whether residents' personal information was lost or accessed.
What happened
According to the county's incident updates page, staff found the attack during a regular systems check on Dec. 25, 2025. Some IT systems were disabled by the ransomware and others were shut down as a precaution during the forensic investigation. Email was out of service from that day.
The county brought in a third-party cybersecurity firm and notified the RCMP, its insurer, its bank and legal counsel. On Jan. 4, it said work to date indicated minimal information had been affected. Mayor Tanni Doblanko said the attack was caught quickly, which let administration bring in experts and disable systems.
Recovery
The county said on Jan. 7 that it was open for business and adapting processes to the IT it had available, with priority given to public services, municipal affairs deadlines and financial management. Email addresses were restored in phases. By Jan. 16, Outlook, the Tyler Permitting portal for safety codes and development permits, and website form submissions were working again.
What we don't know yet
The forensic investigation is continuing. If the county finds that personal information was lost or accessed in a way that creates a real risk of significant harm, it must notify Alberta's Information and Privacy Commissioner, affected people and the provincial government under the Protection of Privacy Act, it said. The county has not said how the attackers got in, whether a ransom was demanded, or which group was responsible.
What to do
Residents and businesses that deal with the county should be cautious of unexpected emails or invoices that appear to come from Leduc County, and confirm payment or banking changes by phone at 780-955-3555.
