Fire Rescue Victoria still hampered by December 2022 cyber attack

Fire Rescue Victoria is still suffering serious after-effects from a cyber incident in December last year.

The agency first took its systems offline on December 15, and on December 16 confirmed a security incident had taken place.

FRV said it shut down a number of its IT systems, and that its emergency responders were turning out using radios, mobile phones and pagers.

In its 2022-23 quarter three outcomes framework progress report, FRV revealed that many systems, including its computer aided dispatch system, remained offline.

“The cyber attack on FRV in December 2022 continues to severely impact FRV’s information and computer technology systems”, the report stated, and as a result, the agency is limited in the data it was able to provide for the report.

“FRV also reports it is developing and implementing interim solutions to maintain system functionality and data collection functions, where possible.

“However, the timeframe for retrieval of data stored in those systems, and access to systems and applications is still unknown.”

A spokesperson confirmed the information in the framework report, telling iTnews the December attack “affected all systems, including FRV’s emergency response dispatch systems.”

“Importantly, the community can be assured that FRV will continue to respond to emergencies to protect life and property," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson emphasised that turn-out using phones, pagers and radios is part of its “planned alternative arrangements”.

The spokesperson said FRV has engaged “several specialist organisations to support the restoration systems.”

The agency is “working cautiously to restore, recover and rebuild its systems."