Foster City cyberattack escalates
A ransomware attack in Foster City forced a formal emergency response and disrupted municipal operations — a reminder that city and vendor outages can ripple into tenant workflows and building services. Landlords should note this as a near‑term case study in operational risk for multi‑tenant portfolios. (kalw.org)
Foster City IT staff flagged suspicious activity on March 19 and identified ransomware, then took most city computer systems offline and engaged external cybersecurity specialists, according to the city’s March 19 notice. (fostercity.org (fostercity.org)) The City Council held a special session on March 24 and voted 4-0 to declare a local state of emergency so the city could become eligible for expedited outside assistance, per SFGATE reporting. (sfgate.com (sfgate.com)) Municipal email and phone systems have been disrupted and city staff reported they cannot make or receive calls or respond to emails, while City Hall remains open with limited services, according to SFGATE’s summary of the city’s statement. (sfgate.com (sfgate.com)) Police and 9-1-1 operations have been described as functional but police emergency lines were briefly down and later restored, per NBC Bay Area’s coverage of the incident. (nbcbayarea.com (nbcbayarea.com)) The city’s release, attributed to City Manager Stefan Chatwin, said it is unknown whether sensitive public information was accessed and urged anyone who has done business with Foster City to change passwords and monitor personal data. (fostercity.org (fostercity.org)) Officials notified San Mateo County and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services as they seek outside support, and the city’s communications manager Austin Walsh is listed as the media contact on the March 19 notice. (cbsnews.com (cbsnews.com); fostercity.org (fostercity.org)) An incident-response manager at managed-security provider Logically told SFGATE that municipal ransomware incidents often require “three to six weeks” to restore a sense of normalcy, a timeline the city has not contradicted. (sfgate.com (sfgate.com))
