Cyberattack still disrupting Oakland services

As an intense winter storm sweeps the Bay Area, Oakland’s 311 phone system, which residents can call to report downed trees, flooding and street signal outages, is down due to the ongoing effects of a ransomware attack more than two weeks ago.

The attack, which occurred on Feb. 8, has also disrupted the city’s ability to process parking tickets and business licenses. As of Friday, Oakland said the ransomware attack was still affecting those systems and urged residents to report infrastructure issues — including downed trees, street signal outages and flooding — directly to the Fire Department at 510-444-3322.

“The City’s IT Department and leading cybersecurity and forensic teams continue working around the clock to test and recover impacted systems,” the city said in a statement released earlier in the week.

Oakland officials declared a state of emergency after the attack hit city technology systems, making it impossible to submit payments such as taxes and parking fees online or to connect by phone with most city departments.

City officials have released scant details about who is behind the attack, why they are calling it ransomware and whether — or how much — Oakland may have paid the attackers. It’s unclear when the

city’s systems will be fully restored.

In a recent statement to The Chronicle, the city said it has partnered with forensic, cybersecurity and technology firms to investigate the attack. Some

city services continue to be affected by the attack.

While the attack hasn’t affected the city’s ability to receive 911 emergency calls, the response to nonemergency calls could be delayed, the city said.

The city’s police department recently was unable to access internal systems to report an arrest, check for warrants and write police reports. But Barry Donelan, the president of the police union, said Friday that those services have been restored.

“The regional systems dealing with arrests and checking for warrants are back online 100%,” Donelan said.

The ransomware attack also raised questions on whether city employees would be paid after it affected the payroll system, but the city said the Finance Department came up with a plan to ensure staff were paid on time.

Since the attack, the city has been able to restore the public’s access to computers and scanning, printing, copying and internet service at libraries.

“While we continue to make progress, there is more work to be done. We are incredibly grateful for our community’s patience and will continue to provide updates as we work to restore services,” the city said in a statement.

Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Snow blankets the ground Friday along the Scott Peak trailhead on Grizzly Peak Boulevard in Oakland. It’s unclear when that city’s systems hit by a ransomware attack will be fully restored.