May 2, 2023
The City of Dallas, Texas, has suffered a Royal ransomware attack, causing it to shut down some of its IT systems to prevent the attack’s spread. Local media reported that the City’s police communications and IT systems were shut down Monday morning due to a suspected ransomware attack. This has led to 911 dispatchers having to write down received reports for officers rather than submit them via the computer-assisted dispatch system. The Dallas County Police Department’s website was offline for part of the day due to the security incident.
“Wednesday morning, the City’s security monitoring tools notified our Security Operations Center (SOC) that a likely ransomware attack had been launched within our environment. Subsequently, the City has confirmed that a number of servers have been compromised with ransomware, impacting several functional areas, including the Dallas Police Department Website,” explained a media statement from the City of Dallas. “The City is currently working to assess the complete impact, but at this time, the impact on the delivery of City services to its residents is limited. Should a resident experience a problem with a particular City service, they should contact 311. For emergencies, they should contact 911.”
BleepingComputer has also confirmed that the City’s court system canceled all jury trials and jury duty from May 2nd into today, as their IT systems are not operational. Dallas is the ninth largest city in the United States, with a population of approximately 2.6 million people.