Pensacola, FL was hit by a cyberattack in the wake of what has been described as a terrorist shooting.
“The city of Pensacola is experiencing a cyberattack that began this weekend that is impacting our city network, including phones and email at City Hall and some of our other buildings,” said Mayor Grover Robinson.
The cyberattack began early Saturday morning days after a shooting at the nearby Pensacola Naval Air Station that left four dead and eight wounded. Federal authorities are currently investigating the cyberattack and have been as yet unable to determine whether it’s connected to the shooting.
“[T]he city of Pensacola has experienced a cyberattack and we’ve disconnected much of our city’s network until the issue can be resolved,” said the city’s spokeswoman.
Pensacola phones, the city’s 311 line, and online payments for utilities are reportedly down as a result of the attack, but emergency services are operational.
The Jacksonville FBI office tweeted that they were providing resources to assist, but that no additional information was available.
While city, state, and federal officials have declined to comment on the nature of the cyberattack, two other Florida cities, Lake City and Riviera Beach, were targeted by ransomware attacks earlier this year. Both cities opted to pay their attackers.
