Correction: A previous version of this story included an error in reporting that said city public safety systems such as the fire and police department were shut down by a cybersecurity attack, when those systems remained in place even after Long Beach decided to take down its website and some city systems such as the main city website, utility billing systems, digital resources and checkout at public libraries and online registration for classes offered by the city to prevent any further damage from the potential threat. A misquoted statement from city clerk Monique De La Garza where she was misunderstood to be referencing city manager Tom Modica was also removed due to its inaccuracy.
The Long Beach city council held an emergency meeting on Friday in response to a cyber attack that caused the city to shut down its website and portions of the city’s public services.
The city announced on Tuesday that it was subject to a possible cyber-attack incident.
An investigation is ongoing with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and council members had no information on the investigation at this time.
Most of the city council members attended the meeting in person except for Mayor Rex Richardson and council member Roberto Uranga, who were off on official business for Long Beach city but attended the meeting through Zoom.
The cyber breach led the city to shut down certain online systems that were put at risk by the attack, including the main Long Beach website as well as utility billing systems, digital resources and checkout at public libraries and online registration for classes offered by the city.
The emergency phone numbers for the police and fire department remain online for the public to use.
The airport, trash and recycling collection and phone line to report gas and water leaks are still available as well.
Dallas faced a similar attack just weeks ago and other cities have dealt with security breaches and ransomware incidents such as Atlanta and Baltimore in years prior.
Atlanta and Baltimore did not meet the demands of the ransom and instead paid upwards of $17 million dollars to increase cyber security and fix some of the issues.
An emergency resolution was discussed at the meeting that would give Modica more purchasing authority to respond to the situation from the cyber attack that targeted the city of Long Beach.
The members voted and everyone agreed to pass the motion.
As Mayor Richardson concluded his message on the motion, he gave the floor to the city clerk for further information, at which point city manager Thomas Modica began speaking.
After the roll call vote concluded and the meeting was adjourned, De La Garza walked over to discuss something with Modica.
The emergency meeting was held at LBCC Liberal Arts Campus instead of City Hall.
“(LBCC’s) partnership with the city council has existed since our foundation started,” Stacy Toda, LBCC public relations spokesperson said.
Long Beach City will be releasing updates on their social media accounts.