Law enforcement investigating apparent cyberattack against Pensacola
Pensacola is working with law enforcement agencies to investigate the apparent cyberattack on the city's computer systems that occurred over the weekend.
"This is an active of investigation, and we are coordinating with local, state and federal agencies," Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves said at a press conference Tuesday. "As such, there's not a lot that we can discuss because we're still rather early in the investigative stage."
Reeves said that most city computer and phone systems remained shut down as a precaution.
"It is important to note we are prepared for this," Reeves said before referencing a similar cyberattack in 2019 against the city. "... We have procedures and policies in place that resulted from that (2019) incident. So for example, we're able to shut down our system rather quickly to mitigate any possible harm to more systems. We also have viable backups, which are helping us get operations back to normal."
Pensacola information technology officials detected the attack Saturday morning and implemented the city's response plan.
The city sent out a notice Saturday that it was experiencing a "computer network security incident," and most city phone systems were down. The city has established alternate phone numbers for the departments impacted.
Online bill pay for Pensacola Energy and city sanitation customers remains down, but other payment methods remain operational.
Other critical city departments, such as the Police and Fire Departments, the Port of Pensacola, and the Pensacola International Airport, continue to operate normally.
Previously: Potential cyberattack against Pensacola knocks out non-emergency city phone system
City officials still have not confirmed specific details of the attack and continue to officially call it a "network security incident."
Reeves said as part of the city's response plan, Pensacola Fire Chief Ginny Cranor is serving at the city's "incident commander" coordinating the city's response. Reeves said he's receiving constant updates on the situation and is holding two or three formal briefings a day with city staff.
Reeves said it was too early to say what, if any, information was compromised and whether it included personal information of city residents or customers.
"Certainly, we have protocols in place when that becomes apparent, but it is too early to say one way or the other on that," Reeves said. "Obviously, we understand that that's going to be the No. 1 question, and so again, we continue to get updates minute by minute. And certainly, when there's a definitive answer that one way or the other, we'll be providing that as soon as possible."
Reeves said he couldn't give a timeline on when things will return to normal operations, but he is happy with the progress being made.
"We haven't been at a standstill," Reeves said. "We've been able to be ticking things off as they go along, and it's that much more comforting, because we know we've got a plan. We practiced this plan, and we continue to follow that plan and I feel good about that progress."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola cyberattack investigating for personal information breach
