Long Beach officials announced Monday night that its main website was back up and operating nearly two weeks after it announced that it had been the target of a cyberattack, but the extent of the breach is still unknown, and the city said the investigation could last months.
A news release put out by the city said that most of the city’s internet connections, networks and systems were back online, but there was still work to do to restore all of them, including the city’s payment portal for utility bills, which remains offline.
In an email Tuesday night, the city declined to say whether anyone’s personal data was compromised as part of the breach or if it paid a ransom to get back control of its systems. It also did not answer how the city first detected the breach that it said was found on Nov. 14.
“Due to the nature of the network security incident and active investigation, most of the information relating to the investigation must remain confidential,” Jennifer De Prez, a city spokesperson, said in an email.
News of the breach was made public Nov. 15, and the city quickly took down all of its websites and pivoted to publishing updates on a temporary site about what city services were still active and which ones had been limited due to the attack.
The release said that city services are being brought back online slowly as staff works to reestablish connections with outside partners, something that is expected to continue for several days, according to Monday’s news release.
Some digital library services remain unavailable, and the ability to pay utility bills remains offline. The Utilities Department has said that although payments can’t be processed, customers won’t be charged late fees or have services shut off due to non-payment.
When all systems do come back online, the city said that there are expected to be backlogs and a catching-up process before things return to normal.
When that entails is unclear. The city said it could be until 2024 before its investigation into the breach is complete.
“The investigation of the network security incident remains ongoing and it could take several weeks or months to conclude the investigation,” the news release said.
How much the city has spent responding to the breach is also unclear. De Prez said that “it could take several weeks before costs associated with the incident are finalized.
The city declared a state of emergency due to the breach during a special City Council meeting on Nov. 17. At that meeting, City Manager Tom Modica said that the council would be briefed about the incident in open session at the council’s Dec. 5 meeting. The item is expected to be added to the council’s agenda Friday, De Prez said.
The emergency declaration allows Modica more spending power to contract with outside firms before getting approval from the City Council.