Local government offices in Texas found its computer systems at the mercy of ransomware during a coordinated attack on Friday, Aug. 16.
A total of 23 entities have been hit by the ransomware attacks. Most of these Texas entities affected were smaller, local government groups.
A Coordinated Attack In Texas
According to the Texas Department of Information Resources, the State of Texas computer systems and networks were not affected by the string of cyber attacks.
Investigations on the ransomware invasions are still ongoing, led by the DIR with the assistance of the State Operations Center. The Texas Military Department, the Texas A&M University System's Cyberresponse and Security Operations Center, and more state and federal agencies are also contributing resources to the various jurisdictions.
While the responders are still actively working to unearth more information about the multiple breaches, it appears that the attacks were all coordinated from just one source.
"At this time, the evidence gathered indicates the attacks came from one single threat actor," the DIR said in a statement.
In the meantime, the DIR cautioned everyone to remain cyber aware and practice good safety habits. Users are warned not to open any suspicious email links and attachments. It's also important to be conscious of potentially malicious actors impersonating official staff.
Rise In Ransomware Attacks
Ransomware refers to malicious software that can prevent personal or organizational computer systems from functioning until a ransom is paid.
It's a cyberattack that's becoming more and more common, especially in 2019.
According to CNET, the U.S. Conference of Mayors last July noted 22 ransomware attacks on city, county and state governments in 2019 (and counting). In June 2019, the city councils of Lake City and Rivera Beach from Florida had to pay a total of more than $1 million after hackers paralyzed their systems.
While attacks on individual consumers may be down, businesses and organizations are getting hit much more frequently.
A report from antivirus company Malwarebytes revealed that business detections of ransomware rose an alarming 365 percent from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019. In contrast, consumer detections of ransomware dropped 12 percent every year and 25 percent every quarter.
"Cybercriminals are searching for higher returns on their investment, and they can reap serious benefits from ransoming organizations over individuals, who might yield, at best, a few personal files that could be used for extortion or identity theft," Malwarebytes stated on the report. "Encrypting sensitive proprietary data on any number of endpoints allows cybercriminals to put forth much larger ransom demands while gaining an exponentially higher chance of getting paid."
