Suisun City officials declared a state of emergency Saturday, August 8, after a cyberattack took out the city’s emergency dispatch line and other key systems.
City officials said that “malicious software infected and compromised IT systems” at about 5:45 a.m. on Friday.
The cybersecurity issue forced the city to shut down its IT network, and the cyberattack halted the city’s “critical public safety operations,” including 911 routing and the fire and police department’s dispatch lines.
The Suisun City Council declared a state of emergency after a meeting on Saturday at 11 a.m. called in response to the cyberattack.
This declaration gave the city access to additional support services and cushions the financial blow dealt by the cybersecurity incident.
The city shut down its entire IT network to contain the threat and preserve evidence for a federal investigation.
Despite the drastic action, officials moved quickly to restore emergency services.
The Suisun City dispatch team moved to Solano County’s second emergency dispatch center to continue fielding residents’ calls.
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.
The attack disrupted city operations beyond emergency services.
As of Saturday, many online city services and internal operations remain unavailable while cybersecurity experts work to investigate the incident and restore affected systems.
Federal and state agencies immediately joined the investigation.
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.
Suisun City is in Solano County at about the midway point between San Francisco and Sacramento, being about 45 miles from each city.
In the viral moment that prompted the emergency declaration, the city discovered the breach Friday morning when it detected suspicious activity in its IT systems. The malicious software forced officials to make the difficult decision to sever the entire network to prevent further spread and protect evidence. Police and fire crews, already equipped to operate independently of digital systems when necessary, immediately shifted to backup dispatch procedures through Solano County’s facilities to ensure residents’ emergency calls continued to reach responders. City services from online bill payments to permit applications went dark as the network shutdown took effect.
The decision to activate emergency protocols underscored how dependent modern cities have become on digital infrastructure, even for life-or-death services.
The incident remains under investigation.