- The state of Nevada says that the LED “Network Security event”
- Although not officially described as a cyberattack, it certainly resembles a ransomware -attack
- There are no signs of stolen files yet
Offices, sites and telephone lines from the state government of Nevada were all made unavailable and taken offline after a apparent cyberattack.
The official X account for Governor Lombardo Press Office announced a message that the state of Nevada “identified a network security event”.
Currently, this article was written, the site was still offline and showed a single message and said “The requested URL was rejected. Please consult your administrator.”
Was this a ransomware -attack?
“As the state continues its restore efforts, the network security incident continues to affect the availability of certain state technology systems on the state network,” the message adds. “Some state sites or telephone lines may be slow or short inaccessible during recovery.”
The way the message is formulated does not suggest that this was a cyberattack, but with several services offline, a continuous investigation and the state that wants to restore the services one by one, it all bears the markings of a ransomware attack.
Ransomware -attack also usually includes data theft, with criminals who exfilter sensitive files to be used as leverage if the victim can restore their services via backups.
In this case, however, Nevada says there is currently no evidence that any personally identifiable information (PII) was compromised.
At the time of the press, no threat actors assumed responsibility for the attack, but ransomware against US state and local authorities has historically been performed by financially motivated criminal groups rather than state -sponsored actors.
Some of the better known ransomware gangs that have targeted US government units include Lockbit, Blackcat/ALPHV, CL0P, Royal and Vice Society.
According to one Pakinomist Report, Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency also issued a statement and claimed it was “active to track this network security event, and together with our partners we cooperate with the state of Nevada to offer our help.”
