The city of Abilene, Texas, says it has been working on restoring systems that were taken offline to contain a cyberattack.
The assault started on April 18, when some of the systems in the city’s internal network were reported as unresponsive, and prompted the immediate activation of the incident response plan.
To secure its network, Abilene disconnected critical assets and the systems that were impacted by the attack, the city’s officials announced on Monday.
“We also launched an investigation and engaged industry-leading cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the incident and notified relevant authorities,” the officials said.
The city’s IT department has been working over the weekend to restore services and minimize impact on operations, Abilene’s officials said, noting that systems are monitored for any unusual activity.
“Emergency services are still up and running with the continued ability to timely assist, and no unidentified financial activity has been detected. Water utilities customers are still able to pay their Municipal Services Statements,” the city said.
It also noted that, while systems are being restored, online services may be slower than usual. Past-due accounts will not be shut off, but both in-person and online payments are available.
“We are in the early stages of our investigation. Anyone who has experienced a cyber incident knows it is a time-intensive process. Every week, we will learn more about the scope of the incident and will communicate additional details as our investigation progresses,” the city said, calling for patience and understanding as the incident is being dealt with.
The information made available to date suggests that Abilene may have been targeted in a ransomware attack, but no ransomware group has taken credit for it at the time of writing.
Known for its large collection of children’s literature character sculptures and home to three Christian universities, Abilene has a population of roughly 130,000 people.
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