Ovar municipal services shut through Wednesday after cyberattack

Ovar council has closed a range of public services through Wednesday, 21 October, inclusive, after a cyberattack detected over the weekend left key information systems inoperative. The municipality said the incident had been reported to police and that technical teams were working with the relevant authorities to contain the problem, assess its impact and recover the systems.

The closure goes beyond the council’s general customer desks. Planning and veterinary services, online service channels and EcoLinha are unavailable, according to the municipality. The affected sites also include BUPi, the one-stop property desk; Ecocentro; Ovar Arts Centre; the School of Arts and Crafts; Museu Escolar Oliveira Lopes; and Casa-Museu Júlio Dinis. Residents planning to handle a planning matter, drop off waste, visit a museum or use cultural services should check the latest arrangements for 22 October onwards.

Some services are expected to remain open. The council says Espaço Cidadão, the municipal market, swimming pool, library, enterprise space and cemetery should continue to operate. The SIGA online platform used for education services and the telephone line for planning enquiries are also expected to remain available. The status of those services may be updated while recovery work continues.

For residents with applications already under way, the council’s announcement that it will suspend administrative deadlines is the main practical safeguard. The measure is intended to prevent the closure from causing people to miss statutory deadlines. The municipality has not said who was responsible for the attack or whether personal data were taken. The confirmed impact is a service interruption; the available statement does not establish a data breach or identify the attackers. The council says it will publish further updates through its official social media accounts.