TxDOT latest state agency to be victim of ‘ransomware’ attack

Posted: May 18, 2020 / 08:29 AM CDT

Updated: May 18, 2020 / 08:33 AM CDT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas courts system and Texas Department of Transportation were victims of cyber attacks last week.

The latest attack on a state agency came Thursday when TxDOT announced its website was compromised by a ransomware attack. That’s when a hacker gains access to another system and shuts it down until the website owner pays them money to restore it, thus holding it for ransom.

The Texas Department of Transportation determined that on May 14, 2020, there was unauthorized access to the agency’s network in a ransomware event. TxDOT immediately took steps to isolate the incident and shut down further unauthorized access. Read the full statement below: pic.twitter.com/lSooXFRBZe
— TxDOT (@TxDOT) May 15, 2020

The FBI is investigating the attack.

Just three days before, the Texas courts system fell victim to a similar attack. It caused the court system to shut down all its websites and servers, and officials said it didn’t appear any sensitive information was compromised in the attack.