Sonoma County emergency alerting capabilities uninterrupted following vendor cybersecurity incident

The Sonoma County Department of Emergency Management is informing the community of a cybersecurity incident affecting the CodeRED alert and warning platform, operated by our third-party vendor. CodeRED is the system behind the County’s SoCoAlert system. This is a nationwide vendor side incident and is not a breach of any County systems or networks. There is no active emergency in Sonoma County.

The vendor has confirmed that the CodeRED system was impacted during the incident and that certain subscriber contact information may have been accessed. Community members who created a CodeRED/SoCoAlert account online should change their passwords immediately, especially if the same password is used on other websites or services.

The County’s ability to issue emergency alerts has not been diminished. The County activated multiple redundant systems at the onset of this outage, ensuring reliable and continuous public notification. The County continues to issue emergency alerts through:

• Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (via Napa County), which is fully operational
  • NOAA Weather Radio
  • Wireless Emergency Alerts
  • Emergency Alert System
• Nixle text and email alerts
• Official County websites and social media channels

These redundancies are purposefully built into our alert and warning program to ensure the community receives timely emergency information.

Community members with an online CodeRED/SoCoAlert account should take the following steps:

• Update any other accounts where the same password may have been used.
• Call CodeRED Customer Service at 1-866-939-0911, option 1 or email crsupport@crisis24.com for more information, or support.

Community members should ensure they can receive alerts by signing up to the County’s alternative SoCoAlert system, RAVE, which is not part of CodeRED. Registration information can be found at www.SoCoAlert.com.

What the County Is doing:

• Monitoring vendor restoration efforts
• Maintaining active alert and warning partnerships
• Using an alternate alerting system in the interim
• Prioritizing public safety, redundancy and transparency throughout the incident

DEM will continue to provide updates as new information is available. For preparedness tips and official emergency information, visit https://socoemergency.org/get-ready/.

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Media Contact:
Matt Brown, Communications Specialist
publicaffairs@sonomacounty.gov
(707) 565-3040
575 Administration Drive, Suite 104A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403