The city of Princeton called an emergency City Council session after confirming that an active cybersecurity incident resulted in an intrusion into critical city information technology and communication systems.

An emergency supplemental notice added to the Monday, Sept. 21, City Council agenda says immediate action may be required to authorize emergency response and recovery measures “necessary to protect public safety, secure critical infrastructure, guard governmental operations, and mitigate risks arising from the cybersecurity incident.”

The council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. and will discuss the cybersecurity incident in executive session. The council said it may also consider emergency contracts, expenditures, professional services and remediation measures related to the incident.

The emergency notice represents a stronger characterization of the incident than an earlier city release, which said Princeton was responding to “a cybersecurity incident involving potential unauthorized access to certain city systems and data.”

In that release, the city said it was working with IT and cybersecurity experts as well as law enforcement to identify the nature and scope of the activity.

The city said its investigation was continuing “to determine whether any information was accessed, acquired, or otherwise affected and whether any individuals may have been impacted.”

The city has not publicly identified what information may have been accessed or acquired.

The emergency notice said the council may take action following the closed session on measures needed to protect city operations and critical infrastructure.

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