Northern California city declares emergency after malware disrupts 911, public safety systems

By Cecilio Padilla

A Northern California city declared a state of emergency Saturday after malware disrupted 911 routing, police and fire dispatch and other critical city systems.

Suisun City officials said the cybersecurity incident began around 5:45 a.m. Friday. The city shut down its entire IT network to contain the threat and preserve evidence for a federal investigation.

Despite the disruption, city officials stressed that police officers and firefighters are continuing to respond to emergencies. Suisun City dispatchers are taking calls through the Solano County dispatch center, and officials said there is no imminent threat to the public.

As of Saturday, many online city services and internal operations remain unavailable while cybersecurity experts work to investigate the incident and restore affected systems.

The Suisun City Council unanimously declared a state of emergency Saturday morning, allowing the city to quickly access emergency resources and recover costs tied to the cyber incident.

The city said it is working with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, California Office of Emergency Services and other state and regional agencies.

Officials have not said how the malicious software entered the city’s systems or who may be responsible. The incident remains under investigation.

Suisun City is in Solano County at about the midway point between San Francisco and Sacramento, being about 45 miles from each city.