Dallas County ‘interrupted’ information exfiltration, prevented encryption after assault

Dallas County supplied an replace on the ransomware assault that was reported this week, telling residents that they had been capable of cease the incident earlier than the hackers might encrypt information or methods.

On Monday, the county of almost 3 million residents confirmed it was coping with a cybersecurity incident after the Play ransomware gang claimed it breached their methods this weekend.

On Tuesday night, the county launched a follow-up assertion offering extra particulars in regards to the incident. “Attributable to our containment measures, Dallas County interrupted information exfiltration from its atmosphere and successfully prevented any encryption of its information or methods,” they stated.

“It seems the incident has been successfully contained, partly because of the measures we now have carried out to bolster the safety of our methods.”

They attributed their defensive success to the deployment of endpoint detection and response (EDR) instruments, pressured password modifications, multi-factor authentication and extra.

They didn’t clarify how the hackers initially obtained into their methods however stated “there is no such thing as a proof of ongoing risk actor exercise in our surroundings.”

“Given these measures and findings, it seems presently that the incident has been efficiently contained and that Dallas County’s methods are safe to be used,” they stated, including that the preliminary assault solely affected a portion of their community.

The county employed an unnamed cybersecurity firm to help of their remediation efforts after the assault was found — the investigation is ongoing.

Counties have confronted a barrage of assaults in 2023 as ransomware gangs focus their efforts on authorities our bodies with the least quantity of protections.

Ransomware gangs have precipitated vital points to county authorities methods in Delaware, California, South Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Mississippi, West Virginia, Georgia, and Missouri.

Earlier this 12 months, a significant county in New York outlined the months-long devastation brought on by a 2021 ransomware assault, explaining that police departments, tax workplaces and even primary authorities capabilities had been hampered by the incident.

The Play ransomware gang has continued its streak of high-profile assaults this 12 months. The group precipitated outrage with its assault on town of Oakland, which continues to be coping with the ramifications of its February assault.

The Swiss authorities warned in June that the hackers stole information on residents after an assault on one in every of their IT suppliers.

The ransomware gang first emerged in July 2022, focusing on authorities entities in Latin America, in keeping with Development Micro, and has additionally attacked the Massachusetts metropolis of Lowell and Belgium’s Antwerp in addition to a number of firms throughout Europe.