Columbia, South Carolina, says cyberattack shut down several city systems

Past-week coverage · Original source published 2026-10-22.

The city of Columbia, South Carolina, said it is responding to a cyberattack that shut down several government systems, Recorded Future News reported.

A city spokesperson said the IT department recently identified suspicious activity and contacted the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which is now leading the investigation. SLED declined to comment and directed questions to city officials.

Among the affected systems is MyColaSC, the platform residents use to pay utility bills, report non-emergency issues and reach other city services. The attack also knocked out Geographic Information Systems and systems underpinning animal services. Officials asked residents to phone in concerns such as potholes, fallen trees and broken streetlights while MyColaSC was down.

The city did not answer questions about whether the incident is a ransomware attack, and no hacking group had claimed it as of the reporting date. An official said critical public safety and utility systems remain operational, naming the police and fire departments, 911 communications, Columbia Water systems and the Payment Center, including online payment services.

Columbia, the state capital, has about 150,000 residents. The source notes it is one of the largest municipalities hit in a stretch of recent weeks in which smaller counties, cities and towns across several states reported service outages from cyberattacks and ransomware.

What defenders can take from it

The public account is thin on technical detail, so it supports only general steps. Keep offline fallbacks for citizen-facing services, such as phone lines for reports normally filed online. Confirm which systems are truly unaffected before reassuring the public, and route outside investigators in early when scope is unclear.