Foster City, California, took most municipal services offline after staff discovered ransomware on city networks Thursday, while 911 and police dispatch remained operational, officials said.
The city said its information technology staff identified the ransomware in the early hours of March 19, prompting officials to pause public services outside emergency response functions.
SFGATE reported that the city described the disruption as “widely impacting city services” and said non-emergency public services were paused, citing a city statement.
Officials provided few details about how the breach occurred or what systems were affected, saying the investigation into the scope of the incident was ongoing and that limited information would be available during the response.
The city has not disclosed who may have been responsible, and no group has publicly claimed responsibility. The city did not respond to an email seeking comment from DysruptionHub.
Foster City said emergency services, including 911 and police dispatch, were “functional and unaffected.”
The Foster City Police Department said its business phone lines were temporarily down and advised residents to call 911 or go to the department, which is open 24/7, if they need assistance.
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City communications also showed spillover into routine civic operations: a Planning Commission meeting was canceled, according to a city update.
The city warned it is possible public information was accessed, though officials said that remained uncertain. The city encouraged people who have done business with Foster City to change personal passwords and take steps to protect personal data.
City Manager Stefan Chatwin said staff were working with outside cybersecurity experts to restore systems and prevent further disruptions, and the city urged residents to follow its Facebook and X channels for updates.
Recent municipal incidents show a recurring playbook: keep life-safety online, shift other services to manual workarounds, and bring in outside help while officials assess what was hit.
In Cocoa, Florida, the city declared a local emergency during an IT disruption that pushed billing and other administrative functions to workarounds, even as 911 operations continued and a leak-site claim appeared without city confirmation.
In Leavenworth, Kansas, a November outage was later confirmed by the city as a cyberattack, leaving vendor invoice processing, online permits and inspections, and emailed job applications dependent on in-person or mail options while recovery work continued.
In New Britain, Connecticut, officials said some city systems were disrupted while police and fire operations remained fully operational, with leaders emphasizing backup and manual procedures to keep emergency response running.
The City Manager’s Office said it was in the process of declaring a local state of emergency to help the city seek financial support from outside agencies for response and recovery. The city did not provide a timeline for restoring services.
Foster City is a San Mateo County city on the San Francisco Peninsula.
