Foster City officials said Friday that a ransomware attack was “widely impacting” municipal services, and that city leaders planned to issue a state of emergency in an effort to marshal assistance and funding from outside agencies.
Officials said in a statement that while emergency services like 911 were “functional and unaffected,” information and services that rely on the city’s computer network would likely be inaccessible Friday.
In general, victims of ransomware attacks have their computer systems paralyzed until a certain amount of money is paid. Foster City’s attack was identified early Thursday, the city said.
An investigation into the breach was ongoing Friday. The pending state of emergency would “position the City to receive supplementary financial support from outside agencies,” officials said.
It was possible that public information was accessed during the attack, officials said, but it was not clear to what extent any private information was viewed or copied.
“Out of an abundance of caution, those who have done business with the City of Foster City are encouraged to change their personal passwords and take measures to protect their personal data,” the city said.
