Long Beach Falls Victim to Cybersecurity Attack

Long Beach, California, is grappling with a cybersecurity incident discovered on Tuesday, prompting investigations by government officials, cybersecurity experts, and assistance sought from the FBI. The city, home to nearly half a million residents, is working to identify the source and extent of the incident, assess vulnerabilities, and bolster security measures.

While the city has not confirmed if the incident involves ransomware, it immediately took systems offline for investigation and potential remediation. Currently, the municipal website is inaccessible, replaced by links to an official statement, an alert regarding the attack, and contact details for critical services. Officials clarified that police, fire, and 911 systems remain unaffected.

Despite plans to keep systems offline for several days, government email and phone systems will remain operational. The city assures that other facilities will stay open during the remediation process. However, the public may experience delays in systems and services, as cautioned in the statement.

The incident in Long Beach adds to a string of ransomware attacks affecting various California cities and towns in 2023, including Oakland, Hayward, Victorville, San Bernardino County, San Francisco, Modesto, and El Cerrito. Beyond municipalities, a major pro bono law firm and a California-based company overseeing 16 hospitals nationwide also fell victim to ransomware attacks.

In a significant cybersecurity incident, California’s Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the nation’s largest public pension fund, suffered a data breach in June as a result of the MOVEit attack. This breach exposed the sensitive personal information of retirees from the state, public agencies, school districts, and retirees of the Judges’ Retirement System and Legislators’ Retirement System. As investigations into the Long Beach incident continue, the city is committed to providing ongoing updates to the public through its social media channels.