Oakland

Oakland Continues to Deal With Ransomware Attack

The city launched an investigation with thee help of cybersecurity firms, but hasn’t managed to identify who is behind the attack.

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Oakland residents still can't file a police report online, pay their taxes or get an email to a council member, as a ransomware attack continues to cripple several the city’s services.

Thursday was another day with a lot of frustration for some people and very few answers for anyone trying to take care of business with the city of Oakland.

“It’s frustrating that you cant take care of your business, we came so far to do this,” said Willie Betts of Fremont.

Betts has rental properties in Oakland and is trying to the handle taxes, but said he couldn't access the city website. That's when he came downtown in person and learned the city had been hit by hackers.

“You can’t do any business. The software is down, They informed us to leave your name and phone number and they will get in contact you,” Betts said.

A sign on the door in downtown Oakland explained there are citywide system outages.

On Thursday, the city formally ratified a local state of emergency because of the ransomware attack that began last week.

Officials explained to the city council why the network is still down.

The city launched an investigation with the help of cybersecurity firms, but hasn’t managed to identify who is behind the attack.

At this time, 911 emergency services and calls are not affected but residents still can't fill out a police report online, which is leading to long lines this week at the police department for people looking for help with reports.

Barry Donelan, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association said it's making the job harder for officers on the street as well.

“So, 911 calls are coming in and they’re getting dispatched without any hinderance. However, in just writing a report, doing a records check, accessing a database, none of that is happening and we’re relying on our partners,” he said.

Donelan said that other law enforcement offered their support.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao declined to comment on the attack or the ongoing problems its creating for city hall.

As of Thursday evening, there is still no specific timeline for getting the system back up and running.

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