Council President Calls for Special Committee on Cybersecurity and Emergency Preparedness

BALTIMORE, MD – This cyber attack against Baltimore City government is a crisis of the utmost urgency.  That is why I will convene a select committee, co-chaired by Councilman Eric Costello and Councilman Isaac "Yitzy" Schleifer, to examine the City's coordination of cybersecurity efforts, including the Administration's response to the cybersecurity attack and testimony from cybersecurity experts.

The good news is that City services including Public Safety (Baltimore Police Department, Baltimore City Fire Department, 911), Water Services Operations, and Public Works currently operate without interruption despite this threat. 
 

The bad news is that we don’t know when this threat will end or who is perpetrating this attack on our city and the services that we provide to the people of our city and region.
 

The Baltimore City Council and I stand ready to work with the Administration and our federal partners including the FBI and, if appropriate, the Department of Homeland Security, to resolve the crisis, support the criminal investigation and take active steps to prevent this from happening again.
 

I remain in daily contact with Administration officials on this matter and will continue to provide updates surrounding government operations and as much as I can about the cybersecurity attack, without compromising the investigation, on the Baltimore City Council website (www.baltimorecitycouncil.com).