Computer virus cripples Union City government services

UNION CITY, Calif. (KTVU) - City Hall in Union City opened its doors to the public Monday afternoon as it recovers from a cybersecurity issue that affected government communications and transactions.

The office was closed Monday morning but reopened around noon with very limited services. 

The city's spokeswoman Lauren Sugayan said, "Our systems are currently 100 percent down. All city email. Any system that's hosted here in Union City is down."

The computer virus was discovered early Saturday morning and city government workers were unable to receive or respond to emails, process licenses or permits or perform other administrative duties. 

City officials said they closed City Hall so employees could come in and determine a contingency plan for the foreseeable future. 

Sugayan said, "We're working with federal and state cybersecurity experts in order to investigate. They are helping us not only develop our response but obviously, they might bring in a source of funding to help respond to this issue." 

The city could not confirm if the incident was caused by a ransomware attack, but said there's been no request for payment. 

"No the city has not been asked to pay anything," Sugayan says, 

They're working with the FBI to figure out the scope of the virus and talking with their insurance company to come up with different scenarios. 

Union City leaders hope to return to regular hours of operation on Tuesday morning. 

Officials are asking the public to avoid requesting the procession of any fees or licenses until next week. Any late fees will be waived.