Texas ransomware attack: more than 20 local Texas governments face a ransomware attack

According to the authorities, more than 20 Texas local governments face a coordinated ransomware attack. The Texas computer resources department said in a statement on Saturday that he thought only one source was behind the 23 attacks. He did not name the affected cities nor provided details on the demands of the attacker.

Texas and federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, are working with affected cities to try to restore their access.

The Texas attack is similar to other ransomware attacks that have crippled digital operations in cities across the country in recent years, department spokesman Elliott Sprehe said Tuesday. "Once activated, your computer system is effectively locked until you pay for the ransom demanded," he said.

Trying to prevent similar attacks is "a continuous cat and mouse game" for governments of all sizes, Sprehe said. Ransomware often spreads through e-mails containing malicious links or attachments, or by visiting a compromised website.

Only the last attack

Many other US cities have been the target of ransomware attacks. In June, officials from Lake City, Florida hackers paid $ 460,000 to restore emails and other servers. L & # 39; incident would have prevented members of the community from paying their bills online. A second Florida city, Riviera Beach, has announced pay hackers $ 600,000 to retrieve his recordings.

Baltimore is another affected city, where authorities have refused to claim about US $ 76,000 in bitcoins to restore access to its computer network. Last year, federal prosecutors indicted two Iranian men for ransomware attacks on more than 200 victims, including the cities of Atlanta and Newark, New Jersey, which earned them more than $ 6 million and cost governments and businesses more than $ 30 million.

Sprehe said that he did not know if any of the affected Texas municipalities had accepted the ransom request.