May 27, 2026
Dwayne Page
An investigation is underway in a Town of Alexandria cyber security breach
The incident was detected last Thursday by city hall clerk Jessica Howard and the issue was discussed during Tuesday night’s monthly meeting of the mayor and aldermen.
According to Howard the town hall’s computers were hacked and through the city’s Amazon account, thieves placed orders for three cameras and an Ipad. Two of the cameras were shipped to an address in New York. Although it was a close call, the city will not be out any money.
“Last Thursday, I came in and while placing an order for some paint I noticed a tablet was ordered so I cancelled it really fast and notified Amazon and Police Chief Mike Henderlight,” said Howard.
“They (hackers) were able to get into Amazon and they ordered three cameras and an Ipad and two of them (cameras) were being shipped to an address in New York. The phone number used was tracked to a Verizon number in Gallatin. They only got us (city) for $748.18 (for one camera) but the bank is returning that one. The second one (camera) was cancelled by Amazon before it charged us but they (hackers) still received the item. The tablet was cancelled and no money was taken from that. After Amazon was notified our account was put on lockdown,” said Howard.
According to Howard the town’s bank accounts were also hacked. “They were able to get into the bank accounts but they did not take any money. They just changed our email address”.
After the discovery was made, Mayor Jeff Ford said Winslow Enterprises, an IT company which serves Watertown were contacted.
“We used the IT guys who provide services for Watertown to come over. They turned the computers back on and one by one and corrected the issue and put some protections in place,” said Mayor Ford.
Winslow Enterprises has submitted a proposal to the city for a complete managed IT, email, security, and data protection platform for a monthly investment of $797.
Police Chief Tommy Miller said the cyber security breach is under investigation.
“I am working with an investigator out of New York. There have been subpoenas submitted,” he said.
