BEVERLY HILLS—On August 7, residents near Baldwin Hills, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood lost internet service after vandals reportedly cut over 1,400 fiber-optic lines affecting thousands of internet users in the area.

Photo Credit: Katja Ano

Reports indicate that the cause was a criminal act of vandalism, and that the internet lines were deliberately and intentionally severed.

According to reports, thousands of Spectrum customers lost service in what has been referred to by Spectrum as a “criminal attack.” Photographs captured in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood depict cables that were ripped out of the ground and sliced in half.

This cyber attack occurred one day prior to an instance that occurred on Verizon’s network, that similarly caused mass interruptions of Verizon’s cell phone and internet customers.

Spectrum sent out work crews to splice the damaged lines and are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of the guilty parties responsible for these acts.

Reports indicate that Verizon has approximately eight million Verizon customers. Additionally, there are five million Spectrum customers in California as well.