Long Beach’s top emergency manager said Friday the city’s overhaul of its emergency notification system is nearly complete after a security breach in November compromised the data of 24,000 accounts and forced the city to shut it down for months.
Reginald Harrison, director of Long Beach’s Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Communications Department, said in an email that it has switched all existing accounts onto the new platform, run by Crisis24.
The service, free for anyone who signs up, notifies cellphones in a designated geographic area with alerts on natural disasters, dangerous weather and other emergencies.
The prior system, called OnSolve CodeRED, was suspended by Crisis24 in November following a cyberattack officials say was orchestrated by an “organized cybercriminal group.” Information at risk included home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and passwords used to make profiles.
The old system has since been decommissioned. Officials emphasized to residents that the new system has undergone a security audit and stress tests by third-party cybersecurity experts.
“For community members, the experience of receiving emergency notifications from the City will remain largely unchanged,” Harrison said. “However, we do believe the registration portal has a more modern look and feel – something that we hope residents will like.”
Residents and businesses can sign up here to receive emergency alerts by text or call.