City of Atlanta’s website outage not the result of a hack

April 9, 2020 Atlanta: Atlanta City Hall is bathed in blue as part of an initiative to salute essential workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, April 9, 2020, in Atlanta. The Light It Blue event includes more than 150 major sports and entertainment venues and historic landmarks and buildings across the United States. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com

April 9, 2020 Atlanta: Atlanta City Hall is bathed in blue as part of an initiative to salute essential workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, April 9, 2020, in Atlanta. The Light It Blue event includes more than 150 major sports and entertainment venues and historic landmarks and buildings across the United States. Curtis Compton ccompton@ajc.com

The City of Atlanta’s websites are down and an internal memo issued to employees shortly after 10 a.m. Monday blames a third party vendor’s technical issues for the outage.

A spokesman for Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said he was asking for an estimate for when the sites would be operational again and an explanation about what caused the problem.

The vendor who hosts Atlanta’s website also hosts sites for about 4,700 other government entities, the spokesman said. The City of San Jose, Calif.’s website was also down Monday.

Residents receive advisories about the coronavirus, apply for permits, obtain notices and agendas for public meetings through the city’s websites.

The outage includes the websites for the police and fire departments, but not watershed, municipal court or atl311.com, where residents are directed to report problems, such as potholes and fallen trees.

In 2018, a hack of city computers crippled city business for days. One internal report estimated the damage to the city could cost up to $17 million.

Bottoms spokesman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a text message that Monday’s outage was not the result of a hack.