Updated 10:11 am CDT, Friday, May 24, 2019
The City of Laredo is nearly back on its feet after a ransomware virus encrypted a document management system used by the City Secretary’s Office at around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Co-Interim City Manager Rosario Cabello said Thursday afternoon that most of their departments’ systems were up and running again.
But all city employees’ computers had to be shut off for much of Wednesday to contain the virus. The information technology staff for the city, fire and police departments were checking each computer one by one before turning them back on, Cabello said.
The fire, police, utilities and health departments were intentionally isolated from the virus first, as they were deemed the most important services for the public. Still, they all had to work manually on Wednesday and part of Thursday. Not all computers were operational by Thursday afternoon.
No personal or employee information was compromised by this attack, Cabello said.
As soon as staff found out about the problem Wednesday morning, they contacted police, who contacted the FBI’s cybersecurity division and Homeland Security Investigations, Cabello said.
READ MORE: Webb County announces Memorial Day closures
The FBI allegedly said that all protocols were in place, and that they contained the virus right away. An FBI spokesperson said it is their policy to neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation, and they do not identify victims who may seek their help.
The city also has IT consultants on board, SecuLore Solutions, to double che ..
Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.
