Texan government targeted by ‘coordinated ransomware attack’

The Texan government became the target of a “coordinated ransomware attack” last Friday, which infected systems of at least 23 governments. That reports the Department of Information Resources (DIR) of Texas.

According to the DBIR, the attacks are the work of one attacker and mainly smaller local authorities were affected. As a result of the attack, several government agencies and investigative services, including the FBI, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Texas Military Department, have started investigating and restoring the systems.

No further details have been given. It is unknown, for example, which governments were affected, how the infection could have occurred, what the impact of the ransomware is and what amount the attacker asks for decrypting the files. The names of the affected governments are not being released for security reasons, a spokesperson told a local radio station .

The DBIR does provide various ‘best practices’, such as not opening suspicious or unexpected links and attachments in emails, checking hyperlinks in messages, using strong passwords and being alert to rogue emails.