.@CityOfNOLA computer system is under a cyber attack. City employees were told to turn off and unplug all computers. This affects ALL government computers, 911 dispatch and NOPD computers. @wdsu
— Christina Watkins (@CWatkinsWDSU) December 13, 2019
NEW ORLEANS — Computer systems owned by New Orleans city government were shut down Friday afternoon after engineers detected unwanted cyber activity.
New Orleans Communications Director Beau Tidwell said the intrusion was discovered around 11 a.m. Friday. IT teams then recommended shutting down the system and ordering all employees to sign off and turn off electronic devices.
“The City of New Orleans is under a cyber attack. Please power off your computers and unplug them immediately. Await further instructions,” an internal text message from the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said.
Tidwell said that the cyberattack did not affect the 911 emergency system. Computer systems for the New Orleans Police Department and New Orleans EMS were affected. however.
The shutdown included all City Hall offices, NOPD computers and EMS computers, and the Clerk of Criminal Court’s office.
h/t thieves