Overview
- City IT detected malicious software at about 5:45 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, and officials shut down the entire network and declared a local state of emergency to preserve evidence for a federal probe.
- Emergency 911 calls are being routed through the Solano County dispatch center and Suisun police and fire units continue to respond, while City Hall has been closed and many in-person services suspended through the week.
- City leaders have reported receiving demands from a "person or persons" tied to the incident and held closed sessions with legal counsel to weigh responses, a development that points to possible ransomware but remains unconfirmed.
- The city’s small IT team of two staffers plus a contractor and a 2025 contract with Apex for monitoring and disaster recovery have not produced a quick fix, and officials say full system restoration could take weeks to months with one estimate putting it "by Halloween."
- The attack fits a broader pattern of hacks on small U.S. municipalities that run legacy systems, and it could trigger litigation, higher recovery costs, and pressure on other local governments to strengthen backups and cybersecurity staffing.