Suisun City cyberattack forces closure of City Hall, 911 re-routing

SUISUN CITY, Calif. - Suisun City officials closed City Hall on Monday, days after a cyberattack prompted them to shut down the city’s IT systems, State, federal and local officials are working to get services back online and investigate the breach.

"I ask for patience at this time. We're going to work as expeditiously as we can," said Suisun City Mayor Alma Hernandez. "I'm really centered on the work that our team is doing at City Hall to ensure that we are working through the process that we need to do in order to support the investigation on this incident."

At about 5:45 a.m, Friday, malware infected and compromised the city's network, affecting 911 routing, police and fire dispatch, records and city services.

The city is now working with its insurance company, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the state Office of Emergency Services to restore systems and investigate the incident. 

Asked if the city would pay any ransom, Hernandez said, "I don't have the answer for that, and so the negotiation team is going to be navigating that."

Many residents were turned away from City Hall on Monday.

Grace Nelson was hoping to talking to city officials about a building permit but was turned away. She wasn't upset, however.

"No, because I don't think it's their mistake, right? It's something that's unavoidable," Nelson said.

Suisun City Police Chief Aaron Roth fielded questions while accepting FedEx packages being delivered to City Hall.

"It's definitely disrupted how we'd normally do things," Roth said.

The chief said police officers and firefighters are still responding to calls for service normally. The only change - the city's fire and police dispatchers are now fielding 911 calls from the Solano County sheriff's dispatch center in Fairfield.

"If you call 911 and you're in Suisun City, you will get a police dispatcher, you will get fire and police services," Roth said.

The backstory:

Suisun City officials announced over the weekend that "malicious software infected and compromised" the city’s IT systems about 5:45 a.m. Friday, forcing emergency dispatchers to route 911 calls through the Solano County dispatch center.

Authorities said the cyberattack poses no immediate threat to the public, and Suisun City dispatchers were continuing to take 911 calls through the Solano County dispatch center as of Monday morning.

However, Suisun City Hall was closed Monday due to the cyberattack and in-person meetings for several departments were unavailable, including:

• Planning Department
• Building Department
• Housing Department
• Water Department
• Finance Department
• Human Resources Department
• Public Works Department
• City Manager's Office

Dig deeper:

The Suisun City Council held a special meeting on Saturday morning and declared a state of emergency, which allowed the city to quickly access emergency support services to address the threat. 

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan

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