A cybersecurity firm that worked for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is alleging in a new legal claim that there are widespread security gaps at the utility and that the DWP and city staff concealed those vulnerabilities from regulators.

Ardent Cyber Solutions LLC submitted a 10-page claim against the city earlier this year, alleging retaliation and breach of contract. The firm alleges that Mayor Eric Garcetti personally ordered its contract canceled as a “retaliatory measure” after Ardent alerted officials to the utility’s physical and cybersecurity problems, according to the claim.

Rob Wilcox, spokesman for City Atty. Mike Feuer’s office, declined to comment. Claims are typically submitted to the city before the filing of a lawsuit and are lodged to preserve a claimant’s right to sue.

Ardent worked out of Figueroa Plaza, a pair of downtown office towers that house several city agencies. The firm was one of several companies named in a FBI search warrant served at the utility during agents’ raid of city buildings last year.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.