Foster City lawmakers approved a state of emergency Monday evening, five days after a ransomware attack briefly crippled the city’s police and emergency systems.
Members of its city council voted 4-0 in favor of the emergency declaration, which will make the Peninsula city eligible for “governmental aid,” according to a memo from the city manager. One member of the council, Patrick Sullivan, was absent from the meeting.
While emergency services and 911 lines are up and running, the rest of the city’s network remains offline as the investigation into the attack continues, officials said Monday.
Municipal email and phone lines were “experiencing disruptions,” according to a statement posted to social media. City Hall was open to the public during normal operating hours, though officials cautioned that the services available there may be limited.
Since the attack was identified Thursday, Foster City officials have been in communication with state and federal cybersecurity and law enforcement agencies, a spokesperson for the city said. The city is also working with “independent cybersecurity specialists” to address the consequences of the attack and investigate its source, according to a statement posted on social media Friday.
Cyber attacks on cities have become commonplace in recent years because their systems house troves of personal information but often lack sophisticated cyber defense systems, according to experts. In 2023, an attack on Oakland made personal information for thousands of city workers, including Social Security numbers, home addresses and cell phone numbers, available on the dark web.
It was unclear whether the Foster City security breach had exposed personal information. City officials encouraged residents who “have done business with the city” to change their passwords and take other precautions in a statement Thursday.