Foster City declares State of Emergency following cyber attack

Foster City officials continue to investigate a cyber attack that prompted the city to declare a State of Emergency.

The city is not providing details on what exactly has been compromised by the attack, but did disclose anyone with business with Foster City should change their passwords.

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"It seems pretty opaque at this point," resident James Cowan said of the cyber attack. "We don't have any sense of how significant is the damage, what they have taken, what they haven't, and what's been compromised."

The State of Emergency declared makes the city eligible for emergency funds.

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Despite receiving repeated media inquiries, the city is now saying what the hackers accessed, compromised or what the hackers are holding hostage as part of their ransom demand.

The city in a statement said it moved its entire network offline and now staff are unable to make or receive calls or respond to emails.

Emergency services, including 911 calls, were working on Tuesday. For fire and medical services, Foster City has had a years-long partnership with Belmont and San Mateo.

But City Hall-related services appeared to be at a standstill.

Cowan, who is renovating his home, said the system the city uses to track the permitting process is frozen.

Foster City is working with independent cybersecurity experts to investigate and restore the impacted systems. The city on Tuesday did not have a timeline of when things will be up and running.

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Cyberattack in Foster City shuts down many city services