The City of Middletown suffered a significant cyberattack in mid-August 2025, disrupting critical municipal services for months. The attack forced the shutdown of utility billing systems, leading to estimated back-billing with a 25% surcharge to account for service charges during the outage. Flat-fee services (refuse, stormwater, toter charges) were also back-billed in full, with standard cycles resuming only in January 2026. Meter readings remain offline, delaying accurate billing until early 2026, when adjustments will be spread over six cycles to ease financial strain on residents. The attack halted utility shutoffs for delinquent accounts, which are now resuming for pre-existing balances, with residents receiving notices for payment options. While phone lines, Wi-Fi, and city emails were restored by late October, core systems (e.g., utility billing, police fingerprint checks) remain partially operational via temporary workarounds. Forensic investigations are ongoing to determine if resident data was compromised, though no evidence of fraud or identity theft has surfaced yet. The city is collaborating with federal, state, and local law enforcement, but the full scope of data exposure remains unclear, posing long-term risks to municipal operations and public trust.

A cyberattack disrupted critical public services in Middletown, including city hall operations, phone lines, and digital systems, raising concerns over potential data breaches. While 911 services remained functional, departments like code enforcement, building inspections, and court-related services were severely impacted. Residents expressed fears that personal data—such as court records, financial transactions (e.g., bond payments), and other sensitive information—may have been accessed or stolen by hackers. Cybersecurity experts suggested the attack likely exploited vulnerable software, with strong indications of ransomware involvement, though officials did not confirm this explicitly. The city established temporary emergency contact lines to mitigate service disruptions, but the outage left residents uncertain about the security of their data. The attack underscored vulnerabilities in municipal cybersecurity infrastructure, prompting calls for stronger safeguards to prevent future incidents. Restoration efforts were ongoing, with no immediate confirmation on whether ransom demands were made or if data was exfiltrated.