PRESS RELEASE

The Long Beach City Council will hold a special meeting to consider and vote on the recommendation to adopt a resolution to ratify the City Manager’s Proclamation of Local Emergency caused by conditions or threatened conditions of a network security incident targeting City of Long Beach systems that occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. If adopted, the emergency proclamation will streamline and strengthen City response efforts as it continues to investigate and resolve the incident.

On Nov. 16, 2023, in response to the network security incident and out of an abundance of caution to protect the City, City Manager Tom Modica issued a Proclamation of Emergency (Proclamation) due to the need for a swift emergency response to protect City systems, preserve operational capacity, and to be able to quickly respond as a workforce to a very dynamic situation that could have significant impacts on the City’s ability to provide critical services to the public. Emergency powers are needed to quickly deploy the City’s personnel, to facilitate additional contract authority if specialized services are needed to be procured quickly, to ensure continuity of the City’s operations, and to raise the level of purchase authority available to the City Manager to $1 million, and the Purchasing Agent to $500,000, to be in the best possible position to respond.

The special meeting to consider the City Manager’s Emergency Proclamation of Emergency will take place at noon on Friday, Nov. 17, via hybrid format. Members of the public may participate in the meeting via Zoom and may join the meeting one of two ways:

By calling (213) 338-8477 and entering meeting IDID: 958 2523 6717
By visiting https://longbeach-gov.zoom.us/j/95825236717

The agenda is available online via PrimeGov. Members of the public may provide public comment in the Zoom meeting by clicking the ‘raise your hand’ icon while the item is being read by the City Clerk. Members of the public may also submit comments on agenda items by emailing CityClerk@longbeach.gov.

On Nov. 14, the City of Long Beach learned that it was subject to a potential cybersecurity incident. The City’s Department of Technology and Innovation immediately initiated an investigation and notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Further, the City engaged third-party cyber security professionals to assist with the remediation and investigation of this incident. Through the initial investigation, the City determined a network security incident occurred.

Out of an abundance of caution, the City took certain systems offline late last night; these systems will remain offline until the City can safely and securely reintroduce them to the network, which could take several days. As the City works to resolve this incident, the City continues to operate and provide services to the community without major disruptions at this time. However, in some instances, the public may experience some delays with systems and services and the City appreciates the public’s patience and understanding during this time.

The City is committed to keeping the public informed of any new developments and potential impacts to public services and to the community. Any pertinent updates will be provided as the investigation continues. Information is available at the City’s temporary site at www.longbeach.gov. The webpage provides timely, transparent information regarding this incident and serves as a central information hub. Members of the community are also encouraged to follow the City’s social pages on Facebook, X and Instagram with #LBAlert for updates.

Media inquiries may be directed to the City’s Joint Information Center at JIC@longbeach.gov or 562.570.NEWS.

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