Whakatane District Council is on high alert after its computer systems were attacked by a virus.

Just after 11am yesterday, the council's computer systems were attacked by a crypotolocker virus variant which was so new it was not recognised by the council's protection software.

A forensic investigation is underway after a virus attack affected the Whakatane District Council's computer systems.

The virus uses a host desktop device to target file-sharing software and encrypts any files it gains access to, says public affairs manager Ross Boreham.

'As soon as the attack was detected, we began shutting down our systems to limit the damage and prevent the virus spreading,” explains Ross.

'Our IT and external support staff have worked around the clock to identify and cleanse our systems of infected files and progressively restart them as they were confirmed to be safe.”

The council believe the situation has now been contained. 'We will have all of our essential systems back in operation in a relatively short timeframe,” adds Ross. 'However, we are taking extreme precautions and monitoring all activity exhaustively to ensure that anything unusual is immediately detected.

'If that process throws-up anything suspicious, the system involved will be immediately shutdown and the symptoms investigated.

'We apologise for any inconvenience or delays this situation may have caused. Our first priority has been to limit damage and prevent the virus spreading.

'The degree of caution involved has made this a time-consuming process, but as a result, we have a high degree of confidence that when our systems are fully reinstated, all potential issues will have been recognised and dealt with.

'If any information of relevance to our external stakeholders is discovered through the forensic process now underway, we will communicate that without delay.”

This morning the council is undertaking a staged start-up of all desktop systems and is closely monitoring their file-sharing for any suspicious activity.

So far, all is going to plan, says Ross.

The councilbelieve the virus was contained within their systems and not passed on. It is likely to have been introduced via an email carrying a link to a hostile site, or an infected attachment.

Protection systems have been updated to prevent re-infection, and anyone who completed any transactions with the council on Wednesday is asked to contact their customer services team as there is a chance that the record of that transaction may have been lost.