Government bodies in Texas affected by a wave of ransomware attacks.

On August 12, 2019, 22 government entities in Texas were impacted by a series of ransomware attacks. The Department of Information Resources (DIR) is currently investigating the attacks. The evidence collected so far suggests that the attacks were planned and executed by a single hacker group.

What happened?

The DIR has not revealed the names of the local bodies that have been affected by the virus due to security reasons. The Military Department, the Division of Emergency Management, Texas A&M University System’s Security Operations Center/Critical Incident Response Team, and the Department of Public Safety are all involved in assisting the affected bodies with managing the aftermath. 

The DIR has notified the affected and potentially affected bodies about the attack. Other agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Cyber, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are also investigating the attack.

Attacks on government agencies have increased drastically over the last few months. In June, a city in Florida was affected by a ransomware attack that led to a loss of $600,000 paid as ransom in order to regain access to the network.

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