Controller Cohen Issues Statement on Network Access for March 20, 2026
Summary
Controller Malia M. Cohen issued a statement confirming that routine scheduled maintenance on the evening of March 19, 2026 caused temporary network connectivity loss for 315 state-issued devices, primarily laptops and a small number of printers assigned to remote team members in the SCO Payroll and Personnel Services Division and the California State Payroll System project. By 11:00 a.m. on March 20, 100% of critical personnel had network access restored. The Controller emphasised that the statewide payroll system and SCO's statutory financial obligations were not affected at any point.
“At no point did this incident impact the integrity or operation of the statewide payroll system, nor did it disrupt SCO's ability to meet its statutorily required payroll and financial obligations.”
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GovPing monitors CA State Controller Press Releases for new government & legislation regulatory changes. Every update since tracking began is archived, classified, and available as free RSS or email alerts — 3 changes logged to date.
What changed
The California State Controller's Office confirmed that an automated process during routine scheduled maintenance on the evening of March 19 caused temporary loss of network access—including email, shared drives, and internal systems—for 315 state-issued devices, primarily laptops and a small number of printers assigned to remote team members. The incident was identified and resolved within hours, with full restoration of critical personnel by 11:00 a.m. on March 20.
This was a controlled network-edge incident during planned maintenance and did not constitute a security breach. No payroll data, financial systems, or statutory obligations were affected. The disclosure serves as a transparency statement from the Controller's office and carries no compliance obligations for external parties.
Archived snapshot
Apr 22, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Press Releases
Controller Cohen Issues Statement on Network Access for March 20, 2026
PR26:09
For Immediate Release
3/20/2026 Bismarck Obando
Press Secretary
916-201-9261
bobando@sco.ca.gov
Mariana Carine
Assistant Press Secretary
916-838-5283
mcarine@sco.ca.gov
SACRAMENTO – Today, Controller Malia M. Cohen issued the following statement:
“During routine, scheduled maintenance on the evening of March 19th, an automated process affected network connectivity for a limited set of devices used by the California State Controller’s Office (SCO) Payroll and Personnel Services Division (PPSD) and the California State Payroll System (CSPS) project.
“This resulted in temporary loss of access to the SCO network—including email, shared drives, and internal systems—for a defined group of users.
“The issue was quickly identified, addressed, and found to be isolated to 315 state-issued devices, primarily laptops and a small number of printers assigned to remote team members.
“At no point did this incident impact the integrity or operation of the statewide payroll system, nor did it disrupt SCO’s ability to meet its statutorily required payroll and financial obligations.
“By 11:00 a.m. on March 20th, 100% of critical personnel were restored with network access, and core operations continued on schedule.
“This incident was limited in scope, immediately addressed, and operationally neutral with respect to the State’s core payroll functions.
“What occurred was a controlled incident at the network edge—managed exactly as designed.”
As the chief fiscal officer of the fifth-largest economy in the world, California State Controller Malia M. Cohen independently oversees and manages the state’s financial resources with integrity and transparency to build trust. Controller Cohen is responsible for accountability and disbursement of the state’s financial resources. She has independent auditing authority over government agencies that spend state funds. The Controller is a member of numerous financing authorities, and fiscal and financial oversight entities including the Franchise Tax Board. She also serves on the boards for the nation’s two largest public pension funds. *Follow the California State Controller’s Office on X , Facebook , and YouTube at @CAController and on Instagram at @CaliforniaController.
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