In the city of Fort Worth, it is under investigation. Computer forensics experts are combing through the city’s computer systems to find out how much was stolen in a hack discovered Friday.
“It appears the hackers downloaded attachments to work orders within the system,” said Kevin Gunn, director of IT solutions.
Gunn said the SeigedSec group targeted an internal system used to manage maintenance activities, stealing and publicly releasing hundreds of files, including photos of street repairs, spreadsheets, invoices for work done and emails between staff .
“The data contained in the amount of information that we have been able to pass has not been of a sensitive nature. And generally, it is information that we would release through a public information act request,” he said.
Gunn said the attack is believed to be a political statement intended to embarrass the city.
According to the city, in its post, the hacker group included the message: “We have decided to send a message to the US government. Texas is one of the largest states to ban gender-affirming attention and, that’s why we’ve made Texas a target.”
This attack comes as the city of Dallas continues to recover from a ransomware attack in May that crippled several departments.
It also follows news that staff at North Texas-based airlines American Airlines and Southwest Airlines were notified this week of a data breach through a third-party provider. The two airlines said it is a service responsible for pilot recruitment and recruitment portals.
Although not connected, the cases illuminate what cybersecurity expert Randy Haba recently told NBC 5 that increased surveillance is needed.
“It’s going to become more of something where we’re going to have to apply cybersecurity training and awareness,” Haba said.
Especially, he said, as technology advances.
In Fort Worth, the investigation continues.
“It’s a very fluid situation right now. We’re less than 24 hours from when we were notified. We’re still reviewing all the information that was included and what the potential impact of the release of that information could be.” , Gunn said.
The city is now working with local and federal law enforcement agencies.
Gunn said there is no evidence yet to show that the personal information of citizens or employees has been compromised.
