Dallas Officials Say Ransomware Recovery Could Take Months

(TNS) — It could be months before Dallas systems are fully restored after a cyber attack last week, city officials said Thursday.

Dallas information technology staff are still working with consultants and outside groups to help review and clean servers possibly impacted by ransomware with a focus on restoring systems from public safety departments first, then other public facing agencies, and then everything else. But it’s the restoration of some internal systems described as having background functions that will likely take the longest to complete.

“We are going to be working at this for weeks and months to do all the clean up,” Brian Gardner, the city’s chief information security officer, told The Dallas Morning News Thursday.

Gardner and Jack Ireland, the city’s chief financial officer, said no evidence has been found at this point that data stored by the city of personal information from employees and residents was leaked, nor is there any evidence found that internal data stored, such as police evidence or municipal court files, have been lost. They both said investigations and monitoring are still ongoing.

“We took some things down as precaution, probably more than we needed to, in order to isolate and make sure that it was clean before it was brought back into service,” Ireland said. “So it is taking some time to work through those different systems.”

Thursday marked day nine of the city dealing with the fallout of a ransomware attack from last Wednesday. Ransomware is a type of software often used to extort money from organizations by threatening to block access to files or release confidential information unless money is paid.

Ireland declined to say whether the city has issued any ransom, citing an ongoing criminal investigation by the Dallas police and FBI.

“There are things we’re just not able to share because it is an open investigation and a criminal act against the city,” said Ireland, who oversees the city’s information and technology services department.

City Manager T.C. Broadnax said Ireland “didn’t share specifics about any requests,” and that he wasn’t…