New Orleans remains under state of emergency after cyberattack
A state of emergency declared by New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell remained in effect for the city of New Orleans after a cyberattack Friday prompted officials to preemptively shut down computers and servers connected to the city.
A declaration of a state of emergency has been filed with the Civil District Court in connection with today’s cyber security event. pic.twitter.com/UtpGtu2aNm
— Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) December 13, 2019
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards extended the statewide state of emergency connected to previous cyberattacks.
JUST IN: @LouisianaGov has extended the State of Emergency statewide for cyber attacks. Gov initially declared S.O.E. on Nov 22nd, and now extends it to Dec. 17 in light of New Orleans cyber attacks. @WWLTV
— (@devinbartolotta)Dec 13 2019
Kim LaGrue, New Orleans’ chief information officer, said suspicious activity was spotted in the city's network about 5 a.m. Friday. Experts reportedly uncovered a “cybersecurity incident” about 11 a.m., and the city took action to contain the threat.
LaGrue said investigators found evidence of phishing attempts and ransomware. She added no city employees provided information to would-be scammers.
The City of New Orleans' Twitter account tweeted a copy of the declaration of state of emergency.
Information remains scarce. Cantrell said no ransom demand has been made.
Emergency communications are not affected by this cybersecurity incident. Please continue to call @opcd911 9-1-1 for emergencies. @NOPDNews, @NOLAFireDept & @NewOrleansEMS are responding to incidents as usual.
— NOLA Ready (@nolaready) December 13, 2019
The incident is being investigated by city officials, Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana National Guard, the FBI and the Secret Service.
It is not clear when the systems will be back online or who was behind the attack. The New Orleans cyberattack came days after a cyberattack downed computers in Pensacola, Florida, after an attack at its naval base.
City of New Orleans: no ETA on when city computers will be back online after cyberattack
— (@lookner)Dec 13 2019
