Denver Center for the Performing Arts on Monday confirmed that its internal computer network had gone down in recent days, impacting its phone service and other systems.
People who described themselves as patrons of Denver Center, the region’s largest nonprofit theater company, raised concerns in messages to The Denver Post last week, saying they had heard computer systems there had been down for some time.
“I think the Denver Center for the Performing Arts got hit with ransomware,” one wrote in an email to The Denver Post. “Their computers have been down for a few weeks now.”
“I’m concerned about personal information,” another wrote. “I would like to know if this is a ransomware attack?”
Ransomware is a type of malware that holds computer files and systems hostage in exchange for decryption — and a sum of money, or ransom.
However, Denver Center said there was no evidence of ransomware, or that any of its “public facing systems other than phone service are affected.” The internal service disruption began on March 12, officials said in response to questions from The Denver Post.
“Internal monitoring tools alerted us to the disruption,” a spokesperson said. Denver Center has also not received any other public complaints or questions related to the disruption, they added, and performances, classes and sales have continued without interruption.
“As our IT team works to restore normal business operations, our cyber security consultants are working to determine what happened,” officials wrote in a press statement. They added that all performances and classes are continuing as scheduled, including the current runs of Broadway’s touring “Tootsie” (see our review here), “The Other Josh Cohen,” and the upcoming “Jersey Boys” and “Choir Boy,” the latter from Denver Center’s Theatre Company.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause as we work to restore our internal operations,” according to the statement.
Patrons with questions and concerns can call the box office at 303-893-4100 or visit denvercenter.org for more information.
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