An investigation is underway in Jasper after “unauthorized access” to the city government’s computer network was detected last week, the city said in a statement Wednesday.

The statement, posted to the city government’s Facebook page, did not specify what information, if any, may have been accessed, but said as of Wednesday there was no evidence “suggesting any personal data or other private information of any citizen or employee of the City of Jasper was accessed or acquired.”

“Although the full investigation is still ongoing, it appears at the present time that the unauthorized activity was limited to certain technological functions of the City,” the statement read, “and the City does not have evidence suggesting any personal data or other private information of any citizen or employee of the City of Jasper was accessed or acquired. Additionally, the incident has not impacted the City’s Municipal Court or public safety functions in any way.

The city said it “will continue to observe the recommendations and follow the advice of its experts with regard to its response to the incident and the communication of formal notifications if it is discovered in the future that a notification is required by law.”

The “unauthorized access” was identified “on or about Feb. 20,” the statement said.

“The City of Jasper had previously developed an incident response plan, which includes obtaining the services of experts who are exclusively focused on our response to this incident,” the city said.

Further information was unavailable.

While there is limited information on what occurred in Jasper, ransomware attacks — when a hacker installs malware to lock computer systems and take vital information, then demands money from individuals, companies or governments to get it back — have hit several Alabama governments.

The city of Birmingham was plagued by a ransomware attack that lasted roughly two months last year and caused delays to the city’s budget and impacted productivity among city employees.

An attack also affected services at the Cullman County Revenue Commissioner’s office in 2023. Montgomery County leaders in 2017 paid $37,000 in a ransomware attack to retrieve its data from criminal hackers.