Pensacola, Florida, faces a debilitating cyberattack that disrupts city government phone lines, causing widespread outages. City spokesperson Jason Wheeler confirms the incident, highlighting delays in service across departments, including the 311 Citizen Support system. While emergency numbers like 911 remain operational, alternate lines are established for key departments, with plans to record and post City Council meetings at a later date due to technical challenges.
Despite the disruption, Pensacola International Airport and the Port of Pensacola continue to operate normally. However, live streaming of the City Council meeting is unavailable, with the public urged to exercise patience as the city navigates these technical obstacles. Wheeler refrains from disclosing details about the attackers or their demands, echoing past incidents where Pensacola faced ransomware attacks, signaling the city’s previous resolve in refusing ransom payments and investing in recovery efforts.
This cyberattack adds to a growing trend, with Pensacola becoming the 21st local government in the U.S. to suffer such an incident in 2024. The incident echoes similar attacks across state borders, with Birmingham, Alabama, also grappling with widespread outages due to a cyberattack. The severity of such attacks underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and resilience strategies to mitigate the impact of cyber threats on critical infrastructure and public services
