Pepperell is dealing with a cyber attack that has disrupted parts of the town’s computer systems and may have affected stored data. Town leaders say emergency dispatch is still operating and police and fire crews continue to answer calls, even as some nonessential services were taken offline while staff investigate. Officials say they first became aware of the problem early Tuesday morning.
What officials are doing
In a statement to Boston 25 News, Town Administrator Andrew MacLean said, "We immediately engaged our insurance provider," and said the town has hired outside cybersecurity specialists to investigate and mitigate the incident. Town leaders have emphasized that public-safety response remains functional while IT staff and vendors work to identify the cause and scope of the outage.
Not an isolated problem in Massachusetts
Municipal and county agencies across the state have faced similar breaches and outages in recent months. The Boston Globe reported a data breach at the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office that exposed private medical information, and NBC Boston covered an earlier cybersecurity incident in Attleboro; CBS Boston also recently notified residents after a breach. Federal programs and technical assistance, including grants and resources coordinated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and FEMA, aim to help towns shore up defenses and recover from incidents. CISA's State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program is one such resource.
What residents should do
If you have an emergency, continue to call 911. For routine town business, Pepperell says Town Hall remains open and the town lists phone numbers and hours on its website; the main switchboard is 978-433-0333 for general questions and department routing. Residents concerned about records or personal data should monitor official town notices and consider common identity-protection steps such as checking bank and credit statements and placing a fraud alert if they suspect compromise.
How recovery usually unfolds
Restoring systems can take anywhere from days to weeks depending on the depth of intrusion and whether data recovery is required; municipalities commonly work with insurers, private cyber firms and, when requested, federal partners to contain damage and restore operations. Pepperell officials say they will keep residents updated as the response proceeds, and the town has pledged to share additional details as they become available to the public.
