“The Toledo Symphony Orchestra announced Tuesday that its computers were hacked over the weekend, and that a ‘majority of the organization’s computers and telephones remain offline’ as staff assess the damage, with most files ‘heavily encrypted and currently unusable,’ ” reads an unsigned Tuesday (9/24) article in the Toledo Blade (OH). “ ‘This is a major setback for us as an organization,’ said Zak Vassar, TSO’s president and CEO…. ‘It’s brought our productivity to a complete halt.’ The symphony’s season opener is scheduled for this weekend … ‘Our box office isn’t running at full capacity,’ Vassar said…. ‘We ask our audience for some patience as we get back up and running.’… Some of the orchestra’s important administrative systems were spared in the attack, specifically those fundraising, ticketing, and email databases that use a cloud-based system, and that no credit card information was compromised…. The Toledo Museum of Art provided a ‘temporary office space’ for the symphony employees…. The symphony has, for now, a limited box-office service via a special telephone number … and a fully operational website for online purchases.… The … box office will open earlier as well … Friday and Saturday before the concerts.”
Posted September 25, 2019
