A malicious virus has caused computer and telephone outages at the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

"We can confirm that the technical difficulties have been caused by a virus," spokesperson Nicole Powers said in an email to CBC News Thursday. "Our IT department has taken action to contain the virus and is working to resolve the issue."

On Thursday morning the municipality wrote on Twitter that it was experiencing technical difficulties that were affecting its services, including the issuing of permits.

We’re experiencing technical difficulties with our phones and networks, which are impacting some of our services. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RMWB?src=hash">#RMWB</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ymm?src=hash">#ymm</a> <a href="https://t.co/EKjdGXmCvP">pic.twitter.com/EKjdGXmCvP</a> —@RMWoodBuffalo

Three sources who spoke to the CBC on condition of anonymity also confirmed the virus.

One source said the virus was the result of an email that went around on Monday, which soon infected computers in the finance, human resources, planning and development departments.

Another source said the municipality's IT department was working to stop the spread of a virus that had been hidden in an email attachment, adding that such events are not uncommon. The source also said there was no evidence the virus was the result of a cyberattack or so-called "ransomware," which can lock computer files until a ransom is paid.

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