New Orleans Declares State of Emergency After Cyberattack

New Orleans city computer went offline on Sunday after suffering a cyberattack. City employees were instructed to shut down their computers to prevent further data breaches as IT security personnel worked to regain control of the system. The city has reportedly declared a state of emergency over the matter.

According to a report by CNET, New Orleans city computers went offline on Sunday after being taken over by a cyberattack. The attack began at approximately 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 13. The cyberattack has also claimed government websites like NOLA.gov, the main website for the city of New Orleans.

The New Orleans emergency preparedness team quickly instructed government employees to shut down their computers shortly after the attack began.

#Alert: At approximately 11am today, the @CityOfNOLA detected suspicious activity on its networks that indicated a potential cyberattack.

— NOLA Ready (@nolaready) December 13, 2019

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell tweeted that the emergency preparedness team is working quickly to fix the incident.  “The Emergency Operations Center will remain activated to facilitate interagency response throughout this cybersecurity incident. The City asks residents and vendors for their patience and understanding as our Information Technology team works to restore all operations to normal,” Mayor Cantrell tweeted.

The Emergency Operations Center will remain activated to facilitate interagency response throughout this cybersecurity incident. The City asks residents and vendors for their patience and understanding as our Information Technology team works to restore all operations to normal. pic.twitter.com/vw2t15ywUR

— Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) December 16, 2019

New Orleans City Hall employees will be expected to report to work on Monday, December 16, despite the ongoing issues with the computer system. At this point, city officials claim that the cyberattack has not resulted in the loss of confidential data. As a result of the attack, the city government declared a state of emergency.

New Orleans city officials have not commented on whether or not this attack involved ransomware, a form of cyberattack that demands that victims submit a payment to end the attack.

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