Official Providence, R.I. website server hacked

By Miriam Valverde, Globe Correspondent

The server that hosts the City of Providence’s website was hacked early this morning, according to the mayor’s office.

“The hacker conducted a website defacement attack that affected a large number of customers of the company that hosts the city’s website,” said an updated statement from David Ortiz, press secretary for Providence’s mayor, Angel Taveras.

The statement said the hack was not a targeted attack on www.providenceri.com. or the city’s web domains.

The City of Providence’s website allows Rhode Island residents access to online services such as making property tax payments, city jobs searches, and to submit construction plans for review.

The computer hack happened around 5:30 a.m., and the city’s information technology staff was alerted around 8:30 a.m., according to the statement.

The website was restored by 9:30 a.m. after a remote backup.

The statement said that the city’s internal servers, data or emails were not compromised during the attack.

Providence Police and Rhode Island State Police said they had no information to provide about the hacking.

Miriam Valverde can be reached at mvalverde@globe.com.