Cyber Incident Victim: Prefeitura de Palmeira
Date:
Mar 2025
Location:
Brazil
Summary
The Prefeitura de Palmeirareported that its institutional email service, hosted by GMAES TELECOM LTDA, was disrupted by a ransomware attack and the incident was forwarded to the Internet Crime Complaint Center for investigation. Simultaneously, the municipal website became inaccessible due to a storage connection failure, prompting the administration to provide alternative URLs for essential services such as IPTU billing, tax receipt issuance, and selection process grade appeals while restoration efforts continue.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On March 12, 2025, the official email service of the Prefeitura de Palmeira, hosted by GMAES TELECOM LTDA, experienced an interruption due to a ransomware cyberattack. The institution’s Data Protection Officer, Tiago Dombroski Moreira, confirmed the incident in a note published on the municipality’s social media channels. The note stated that the email service was unavailable on that date and that the hosting provider was actively working on service recovery. Because of the case’s complexity, the expected normalization timeline was extended. The incident was reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), which is affiliated with the FBI, for investigation. Simultaneously, the official website of the Prefeitura de Palmeira was inaccessible due to a failure in the connection to the storage systems. The municipal IT team, in collaboration with the hosting provider, worked to restore the storage connection and bring the website back online.
While the website remained offline, the Prefeitura provided a direct link for citizens to consult the IPTU tax bill. Another link was made available for the issuance of tax invoices. A third link allowed access to the grade appeals of the simplified selection process. These links were shared in a second notice that also affirmed the ongoing efforts to restore the site as quickly as possible. The DPO’s note emphasized that all necessary measures were being taken to protect data and resume services, and that the municipality would keep the public informed of further developments. The article notes that the Prefeitura de Palmeira joined a growing list of Brazilian municipal cyber incidents in early 2025, citing the earlier attack on the Prefeitura de Silveiras in São Paulo that resulted in a financial loss of R$ 472.900,36. Despite attempts by Security Report to obtain additional information, the Prefeitura did not respond before the article’s publication.