California City Declares State of Emergency After Cyberattack

A California city was forced to declare a state of emergency after a major cyberattack tore through its computer network, disrupting 911 routing, police and fire dispatch systems and other critical government services.

Suisun City, a community of roughly 30,000 people in Solano County, said malicious software infected its information technology systems early Friday morning, triggering an extraordinary shutdown of the city’s entire network.

Officials said the breach was detected at about 5:45 a.m. Friday and quickly began affecting critical public safety operations.

To prevent the attack from spreading further — and to preserve evidence for investigators — the city made the drastic decision to disconnect its computer network.

By Saturday morning, the crisis had escalated enough that the Suisun City Council convened an emergency meeting and unanimously approved a formal state of emergency.

The declaration, issued under California Government Code 8630, gives the city greater flexibility to obtain emergency assistance and recover costs associated with responding to the cyberattack.

City officials acknowledged the seriousness of the breach in a public statement, saying “malicious software infected and compromised” municipal computer systems.

“The cybersecurity incident hit critical public safety operations, including 911 routing, police and fire dispatch, records and city services,” officials said.

Despite the widespread disruption, authorities stressed that residents were not believed to be in immediate physical danger.

Police officers and firefighters remain on duty and are continuing to respond to emergencies. Dispatch calls are temporarily being routed through the Solano County dispatch center while Suisun City’s own systems remain affected.

The cyberattack has also disrupted city records, online services and routine municipal operations, leaving some government systems temporarily inaccessible.

The city has activated its Emergency Operations Center as local, state and federal authorities scramble to determine how the malware entered the network and who may be responsible.

The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, California Office of Emergency Services and other regional agencies are now assisting with the investigation.

So far, officials have not publicly explained exactly how the hackers breached the system, what type of malicious software was involved or whether sensitive information was stolen.

No suspects have been identified.

The incident is likely to fuel fresh concerns about the vulnerability of local government computer systems, particularly when a single breach can interfere with services as critical as 911 and emergency dispatch.

Cybersecurity attacks targeting government agencies and vital infrastructure have become an increasingly serious national security concern, forcing cities and states to spend heavily on protecting computer networks that residents rely on every day.

In Suisun City, officials are now working to safely restore their systems while investigators preserve evidence and search for the people behind the attack.

The city sits about 45 miles from both San Francisco and Sacramento in Northern California.

For now, emergency responders remain on the streets — but behind the scenes, much of the city’s digital infrastructure remains in crisis mode.