Oakland California officials declared a state of emergency on 14 February after a cyberattack that first hit city technology systems last week, which continues to make it impossible to pay parking fees, fines and taxes online or connect by phone with most city departments. “The Office of the Mayor at Oakland City Hall. Oakland officials declared a state of emergency over a recent cyberattack that hobbled critical government technology systems.” Calls to 911 and city emergency services are still going through, city officials said, but response times to emergency calls have been delayed, according to a Tweet from the Oakland Police Department.[1]
The attack, which appears to be affecting the city’s computer and phone systems, started on 8 February. City officials have released few details about the attack but have described it as a ransomware attack. Such attacks typically involve a digital security breach in which malicious software is used to lock up computer systems, until the victim of the attack pays a ransom to get their files back. Oakland’s newly appointed interim city administrator issued a local state of emergency on the 14th that will enable the city to more quickly buy equipment and materials, activate emergency workers and issue orders.
Oakland officials have divulged little information about the ransomware attack, including who it came from, what information the hackers are threatening to release and how much money they are demanding.
The city has also said little about what types of services have been affected by the ransomware attack. A statement atop the city’s website reads: “Oakland is experiencing a network outage. Several non-emergency systems including voicemail within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. Thank you for your patience while we work to restore services.”
But residents have reported being unable to access online sites to make payments and being unable to reach many city departments by phone, instead being directed to a recording with no ability to leave a message. Callers are directed to a variety of messages, none of which seem to lead to a live person or a voicemail option.
A call to the city’s Transportation Department on the 15th was answered by the 311 line, which said the office was closed and could only accept infrastructure emergency calls through the city’s 911 line. Calls to several other departments were greeted with recordings saying they were closed or that the number was out of service or that voicemail was not working. That included the mayor’s office, where officials have declined to answer questions. The Mayor said in an interview on KTVU that “city officials are working around the clock to resolve the problem.” City officials have said their information technology department is working on the problem in cooperation with state, local and federal officials.
Red Sky Alliance is a Cyber Threat Analysis and Intelligence Service organization. For questions, comments or assistance, please contact the office directly at 1-844-492-7225, or feedback@wapacklabs.com
Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings:
- Reporting: https://www. redskyalliance. org/
- Website: https://www. wapacklabs. com/
- LinkedIn: https://www. linkedin. com/company/64265941
Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings:
REDSHORTS - Weekly Cyber Intelligence Briefings
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5504229295967742989
[1] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oakland-declares-state-of-emergency-after-cyber-attack-hobbles-critical-government-tech/ar-AA17wYU9
Comments