On Monday, an official confirmed that Dallas County experienced a cybersecurity incident earlier this month, which impacted segments of its network. Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins stated in a release to Recorded Future News that an active investigation is underway in response to assertions made by a ransomware group that surfaced over the weekend.
"We are currently in the process of thoroughly reviewing the data in question to determine its authenticity and potential impact. Our investigation into the incident remains ongoing and we continue to work closely with law enforcement and our cybersecurity experts to address this situation,” Jenkins said.
On Tuesday morning, the Play ransomware group, known for orchestrating high-profile attacks this year, publicly disclosed the information it purports to have exfiltrated. The group stated that it had released 5 gigabytes of data and hinted at the possibility of disclosing additional information if there is no response. However, they have not specified the total amount of data they managed to acquire.
What departments have been affected?
The attack specifically targeted the computer-assisted dispatch system (CAD) of the Dallas Police Department. This forced dispatch call takers to resort to manual note-taking for field officer instructions, limiting their communication to phones and radios. According to city spokesperson Catherine Cuellar, the systems were successfully brought back online on May 6, ensuring continuous operation of emergency dispatch services.
The ransomware attack affected Dallas Water Utilities, preventing customers from making online payments and disrupting meter readings. The utility has since recovered from the attack and both systems are now operational.
The court was closed for the majority of the month after the cyberattack. There were no hearings, trials, or jury duty during that time, and the city could not accept nearly any form of citation payment.
Additionally, The library’s reservation system has not been brought back online yet. Staff are still manually tracking the availability of borrowed items. Residents can still check those items out but are being advised not to return them until the system is fully functional again.
The cyberattack on Dallas County was initially detected on October 19. With a population of 2.6 million residents, Dallas County is the second-most populous county in Texas. Notably, it encompasses Dallas, the ninth-largest city in the United States, which has already grappled with a ransomware attack earlier in 2023.