FOSTER CITY, CA — Foster City has taken most of its computer systems offline following a cybersecurity breach that took place Thursday, the city said.
The city said that IT staff identified ransomware on city networks, and paused all public services except for emergency services. Services are still paused as of Friday at 1 p.m., according to a city update. The city manager’s office is in the process of declaring a state of emergency, which positions the city to receive supplementary financial support from outside agencies.
On Thursday, the Foster City Police Department said that its business phone lines were temporarily down, but the non-emergency and emergency direct lines came back online.
The city said Friday it is engaging with independent cybersecurity specialists to assist with the investigation and remediation. City Hall remains open to the public with limited services, but all emergency services are operational.
The city said public information may have been accessed in the breach, and urged anyone who has done business with the city to change their passwords and protect their personal data.
“The public’s safety is our highest priority, so we encourage members of our community to take precautions that would best assure the security of their personal information,” City Manager Stefan Chatwin said in a statement. “Foster City staff, with the assistance of outside cyber security experts, are working diligently to restore the integrity of the City’s system and ensure there are no further security issues impacting services to our community.”
