Dallas delays release of report that reviews ransomware response
An internal report reviewing Dallas’ response to a ransomware attack that was planned to be published Wednesday could now have its public release delayed up to two weeks, city officials say.
The hold up could mean further delaying clarity to the public on how the cyberattack happened and what steps the city took to safeguard residents’ personal information since then.
A full after-action report was scheduled to be released to the public after a briefing on the review’s findings by information technology officials to the City Council on Wednesday, but the briefing was postponed because it was past 8 p.m. by the time the presentation was set to be heard. The City Council meeting started around 9:30 a.m., and the bulk of it was spent discussing amendments to the upcoming budget.
“In the interest of time tonight, we’re going to recommend that we postpone the briefing (letter) C, the ransomware update, until our next briefing day, as well as the executive session that may have been associated with it,” City Manager T.C. Broadnax told the City Council around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday. The elected officials approved delaying the presentation to their next briefing meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 20.
Catherine Cuellar, the city’s communications director, confirmed Thursday that the report’s release will be delayed as well. A news conference with Chief Information Officer Bill Zielinski and Chief Security Officer Brian Gardner — top officials in the city’s IT department — about the ransomware attack was scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday. It was canceled four hours after it was announced Wednesday when the council presentation was postponed.
It would have been the first news conference held by the city discussing the ransomware attack since the data breach was announced on May 3.
Hackers accessed some of the most sensitive information stored by the city, including medical information, health insurance information and Social Security numbers of Dallas employees, retirees and their relatives. The personal information of…
