California City Declares State of Emergency After Cyberattack

The California community of Suisun City, home to 29,518 residents, announced a state of emergency on Saturday following a cyberattack that crippled its computer systems, including crucial 911 emergency services. Malicious software infiltrated the town's IT infrastructure early Friday, compromising critical operations such as 911 routing, police and fire dispatch, records management, and city services.

Despite the attack, public safety personnel continued to respond to calls for help through the Solano County dispatch center. The city took the precautionary measure of shutting down its network to safeguard evidence for a federal investigation. Suisun City's emergency services, however, remained fully operational. The town's officials are collaborating with federal, state, and regional entities, including the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and California Office of Emergency Services, to safeguard emergency services, probe the incident, and restore the affected systems.

These incidents are not isolated; Bay Area PBS station KQED highlights that other local governments in the region, such as Foster City and Pittsburg, have also faced similar cyberattacks in recent months. Foster City declared a state of emergency after a ransomware incident in March that left many services inaccessible for over a week, while Pittsburg suffered a phishing attack in February that cost nearly $1 million, though more than half was recovered.