Canadian municipalities are "sitting ducks" for "cyber terrorists," says the mayor of Stratford, Ont. — the latest Canadian community to find itself targeted by an online ransom attack.

Dan Mathieson said that if his fellow mayors across the country don't start working together on the problem, more communities may be hit by online extortionists holding municipal data for ransom.

"We're not the first and we definitely won't be the last that will experience something like this," Mathieson told CBC News from his city hall office.

"As long as we are holding information that is deemed to be valuable to attackers ... the new terrorists of the century ... I think we need to find a way to [co-operate]."

On April 14, cybercriminals hijacked part of the city's computer servers, locking out some municipal employees. Stratford Police Chief Greg Skinner confirmed the incident was a 'ransomware' attack.

"They were holding hostage the data of the city, and they were demanding a ransom, or money, in return [for] the release of that information in the form of Bitcoin," he said.

To pay or not to pay - Read more by the CBC.

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