Long Beach In California Falls Under Attack

Uploaded on 2023-11-19 in GOVERNMENT-Local, FREE TO VIEW

The City of Long Beach in the USA State of California has said it suffered 'a significant network security incident' that forced officials to take several of its systems offline and announce a state of emergency. It released a press release on November 15th which identified a network security incident, which had taken place the day before on Tuesday 14th and declared a state of emergency on Friday17th.

The Port Long Beach is the second largest container terminal in the country and one of the world's largest and the port itself was attacked and the nearby Port of Los Angeles has been under repeated attack.

The city administration has been forced to shut down payment processing for utility bills, in addition to some call centers, public services, and the central website of the city. These systems are expected to remain offline for several days as the investigation is being carried out, according to a statement by the Mayor.

The municipal Technology & Innovation Dept immediately launched an investigation to understand the nature and scope of the breach. “The City of Long Beach takes cyber security and data security very seriously. The City’s technology and cybersecurity teams are working diligently to identify the source and scope of the incident, assess potential vulnerabilities, and implement additional security measures, as well as gather recommendations on mitigation, response and recovery plans,” it said is a statement.

City officials have confirmed that public safety systems, including the Emergency Communications Centre and emergency response from Police and Fire have not been affected by the cyber attack.

On the City of Long Beach said that City Manager Tom Modica decided to issue a “Proclamation of Emergency due to the need for a swift emergency response to protect City systems, preserve operational capacity, and to be able to quickly respond as a workforce to a very dynamic situation that could have significant impacts on the City’s ability to provide critical services to the public." Long Beach warned residents that they might experience some delays with systems and services.

Cities and towns across the US have faced a series of ransomware attacks, beginning with a major shutdown of municipal systems in Atlanta in 2018, that have caused widespread damage and data theft. The Snatch ransomware group claimed responsibility for the cyber attack on the City of Modesto and listed it on its Dark Wed site.

Further afield, the Cities of Montreal, Johannesburg and Gloucester have all suffered costly service interruptions resulting from ransom attacks.

LongBeach.Gov: LongBeach.Gov : TEISS: The Record: Spiceworks: SC Magazine:

You Might Also Read:

5G Renders Smart Cities More Vulnerable To Attacks:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

If you like this website and use the comprehensive 6,500-plus service supplier Directory, you can get unrestricted access, including the exclusive in-depth Directors Report series, by signing up for a Premium Subscription.