A malware attack on Suisun City’s computer network has forced the closure of City Hall for at least a week and prompted a local state of emergency, with officials warning that full recovery of the city’s systems could take months. The cyberattack, which was discovered Friday, has disrupted mu ltiple services and city departments. “Right now the majority department that would be impacted … would be finance … human resources … and our housing authority,” said Michael Elm, public information officer for Suisun City. Despite the network breach, officials said they are not currently aware of any personal information being compromised. Crucially, emergency response capabilities remain fully functional. “When somebody does call 911 … they will receive a Suisun City dispatcher … from the Solano County Dispatch Center,” Elm said. While City Hall could potentially reopen by this Friday, officials anticipate a much longer timeline to completely rebuild and restore the compromised systems. “Currently the timeline on full restoration … we’re looking at Halloween time,” Elm said. “That doesn’t mean city services will be paralyzed until then … just means full restoration … will take weeks to months at this point.” The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are among the agencies actively investigating the attack as the city works to safely bring its systems back online. Suisun City is not the only Bay Area municipality navigating the fallout of a network breach. Foster City was hit by a cyberattack in March, while Oakley and Pleasant Hill were targeted earlier in 2024. Experts say the rise in municipal hacks highlights the vulnerability of local governments. “The hackers they’re targeting something we call soft targets are like city hall like we have with Suisun,” said San Jose State University Professor Ahmed Banafa, noting that local governments need to prioritize protecting their digital infrastructure. “Cybersecurity is not an expense, it’s an investment … and should be one of the top priorities for all organizations,” Banafa said. ...read more read less