WSDOT website resumes working after lengthy outage
Dec 27, 2023, 2:08 PM | Updated: 4:41 pm
(Photo from KIRO 7)
(Photo from KIRO 7)
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) website resumed working after a lengthy outage that began early Wednesday. However, the agency cautioned Wednesday afternoon that more work needed to be done.
The agency confirmed the outage on Wednesday afternoon on X, formerly known as Twitter. The posts added that while many services had been restored after the outage, “it will take a little while longer for everything to return to normal.”
Today we experienced information technology outages affecting public facing web applications like our website, mobile app & ferry vessel watch. Many services have been restored & our IT department is working to bring all applications back up & running. (1/2)
— Washington State DOT (@wsdot) December 27, 2023
WSDOT confirmed the site was back up just after 1:15 p.m. Shortly after that social media announcement, WSDOT said the commercial vehicle permitting web page and its cameras also began working again.
Justin Fujioka, a spokesperson for Washington State Ferries, also told KIRO Newsradio the cause of the outage is not known, but it is being investigated.
The agency’s website first alerted the public to the outage on X, shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, telling users they weren’t sure how long it would be down.
Another recent WSDOT website issue
WSDOT confirmed in early November that a cybersecurity incident was responsible for outages affecting its website and apps.
The attack, was aimed at interrupting real-time travel information for travelers, the agency reported at the time.
WSDOT said at the time no other systems appeared to be affected by the attack.
Getting information when the site is down
“Our social media platforms are probably the best place for any type of information relating to ferry schedule(s) (and) real-time information on our ferry status,” Fujioka said to KIRO Newsradio.
Morning. As you’ve probably noticed, our website and app are down. Our IT department is working on it but not sure how long it will take to get them back running. Until then we’ll do the best we can to provide info on our social media platforms.
— Washington State DOT (@wsdot) December 27, 2023
Users can also get up-to-date traffic information on the MyNorthwest traffic page.
Contributing: Steve Coogan; Micki Gamez, KIRO Newsradio; KIRO 7
