IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Sacramento, Calif.’s Website Hacked, Goes Offline

Site could be affected for several more days.

Hacking has struck another government website, this time in Sacramento, Calif.

The homepage for the Sacramento city government, as well as pages for city parking, the parks and recreation department, and the city’s convention center, all were affected last week. The city’s parking website was replaced by a message: "HaCKed by El_MhUaMMcD. This Turkish Hacker."

The city’s website could be down several more days, a spokesperson told The Sacramento Bee. No personal information was compromised, officials told local media.

As of Monday afternoon, the site informed visitors that the city was performing emergency maintenance and the website could be unavailable.  A few of the website’s electronic services, such as online bill pay and payment for parking tickets, appeared to be working.

Several websites affiliated with the federal government have been taken down in recent weeks by Anonymous, a loosely knit advocacy group. Earlier this month after federal authorities shut down Megaupload, one of the most popular file-sharing websites in the world, Anonymous took down the Department of Justice’s website in apparent retaliation. The group also has hacked OnGuardOnlive.gov and FBI.gov, among others.

Authorities have not named who they believe is responsible for the cyberintrusion in Sacramento.

 

Miriam Jones is a former chief copy editor of Government Technology, Governing, Public CIO and Emergency Management magazines.