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Ransomware is a type of malware that disables a computer and its data until a payment is made.
Hackers infected 23 local government-related organizations in the US state of Texas with ransomware software.
Officials said the weekend attack was coordinated.
The Texas Information Department said the attack had mainly affected smaller local government departments.
The Texan authorities have recruited cyber security experts, as well as military and counterterrorism units, to help hand over the systems online.
In a statement, the Texas Information Resources Department said the evidence suggested that the attacks "came from a single threatening actor."
The officials did not reveal the details of the departments involved or indicate whether the cybercriminals had specified a ransom amount.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software used by cyber criminals to disable a computer and its data until a ransom is paid.
Hackers have targeted a number of US states this year, paralyzing government computers in New York, Maryland and Florida.
In May, hackers took control of thousands of government computers in Baltimore.
The attack disabled mail accounts and prevented online payments to city departments for weeks.
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How did cities manage ransomware attacks?
Baltimore officials refused to pay ransom, preferring to manually process thousands of transactions, including home sales.
They have also gradually restored access to approximately 10,000 employee email accounts.
The city has estimated losses as a result of the attack of about $ 18 million.
The hackers first demanded $ 100,000 worth of Bitcoin.
Other cities have chosen to pay.
In June, Riviera Beach, Florida's board leaders voted in favor of a nearly $ 600,000 bitcoin payment in digital currency to hackers who paralyzed the city's computer systems for weeks. .
A week later, officials in Lake City, Florida, paid $ 500,000 to hackers, following a similar request for ransomware.
Lisa Forte, a partner of Red Goat Cyber Security, specializing in cyber security testing, said the payment of a ransom left cities vulnerable to new attacks.
She said, "Even if you recover your data, your organization will likely be added to a dark web list of" organizations that pay ransoms. "This could lead you to be targeted again."
Are cities becoming easy targets?
Ransomware attacks are increasing.
Liron Barak, chief executive of the cyber security company BitDam, said the complex structure of government departments often made it an easy target for hackers.
He added: "In addition, local governments tend to communicate with a wide variety of businesses and individuals, many of whom are unique contacts.
"This makes them more vulnerable to attack because their employees do not know most of the contacts they communicate with in person."
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