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Foster City Declares Emergency After Ransomware Cripples City Systems

The move opens the door to government aid during a probe that has left phones, email and permitting offline.

Overview

  • Foster City’s council voted 4-0 on Monday to declare a local emergency to speed access to outside help.
  • Most municipal systems are still down, with phones and email disabled and City Hall offering only limited services as police and 911 continue to operate.
  • Officials took the network offline and brought in independent cybersecurity specialists, with state and federal agencies looped into the investigation.
  • The city has not confirmed any exposure of personal data and is urging anyone who has done business with the city to change passwords.
  • Security experts say small cities are frequent ransomware targets and warn that full recovery often takes weeks, sometimes three to six, even when key services come back sooner.