In Matagorda County, Texas, home to approximately 40,000 residents, a cyberattack compelled local authorities to declare a state of emergency.
According to officials, the attack affected only the county’s internal systems. Cybersecurity specialists, the Department of Public Safety’s Cyber Threat Division, Texas Emergency Management, and the Department of Information Resources have been enlisted to mitigate the consequences. The FBI has also been notified of the incident.
Discovered on the morning of January 24, the breach involved unauthorized access, disrupting operations in several departments and temporarily crippling certain functions. By January 26, the county managed to restore some services. Special drop boxes were installed near the county tax office to facilitate tax payments. However, in-person payments at the offices remain unavailable, prompting residents to send checks by mail.
Despite the attack, the county’s emergency services were unaffected. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, with no hacker group yet claiming responsibility.
The cyberattack in Matagorda occurs amid a surge in assaults on governmental and municipal entities. For instance, on August 4, the emergency call system of Central Texas was rendered inaccessible for several hours due to a DDoS attack.
In another instance, the ransomware group Lorenz announced the breach of Texas’s Cogdell Memorial Hospital and the publication of stolen data. In early November, the hospital reported a “network failure,” restricting access to certain systems and severely impairing telephone communications. Following the breach, the hospital disconnected its network but continued to provide most standard services.
