Nevada โฃState Agencies Recovering fromโ Cyberattack, โคDMV Nowโค Fully Operational
CARSON CITY, NV -โข August 28, 2023 – Nevada state agencies are working to fully restore operations โfollowing a widespread cyberattack that began last โweek, with the Department of Motor Vehicles โ(DMV) now reporting itโค is indeed “100% fully operational.”
The Nevada State Police reported โคThursday morning that administrative offices andโ online servicesโ had been unavailable โคdueโค to โthe network issue affecting multiple โstate agencies. However, phoneโฃ lines for the Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) and dispatch โฃremained operational throughout the outage, and troopers andโ officers continued to provide public safety services.
the DMV announced that โcanceled appointments will be honored as walk-ins for twoโฃ weeks once systems are restored, and โany late fees incurred during the outage โwill beโ waived. โIn a Facebook update, the DMV โacknowledged resident concerns, stating, โ”Weโ hear you, and we are hereโ for you during this statewide outageโฆโฃ We are actively coordinating with law enforcement agenciesโ to ensure they are aware ofโฃ the situation and can provide appropriate consideration during this period.”
Other state agencies have been adjusting operations. The Nevada Department of Education stated its Carson โCity and Las Vegas โขoffices remain openโ to assist with educator licenses. โขThe Washoe County District Attorney’s Office reported it could not access โinformation โคabout child support cases until the state’s NVKIDS system is restored. The Nevada Supreme Court experienced โintermittent system functionality affecting email, phone systems, โฃeFlex,โ and the public case portal,โค encouraging users to โcontinue attempting electronic filings.The Governor’s Office confirmed the state prioritized restoringโ criticalโข services and implemented temporary routing and operational workarounds. All systems are being validated before returning to normal โขoperation. While no timeline for full restoration has been given, in-person โคservices are expected to resumeโข laterโ this week.
Cybersecurity expert Chuck Flagg,โ President of Orion Technologies, Inc. in Reno, suggested improved isolation tools could help prevent similar incidents. “If โขa threat actor does hit a specific computer, there are tools that will isolate that one computer that willโข not allow it โคto expand out,” Flagg said. He โemphasized the importance of software updates, stating, “If your servers and your computers are not updated, that is a huge risk that you’re putting yourself at. Putting all thisโข stuffโค into โฃplace will dramatically reduce your risk going forward with cybersecurity.”
The FBI is continuing its investigation, and officials are prioritizing minimizing interference with the process. “The FBI wants to โฃcaptureโข all of thatโข data โคwithoutโค having a bunch of users coming in and re-infectingโ or creating a problem for them,” Flagg explained.
Despite the disruption, the Governor’s Office confirmed that all state employees โขwill be paid on time. Many employeesโ returned to the office on Tuesday, with others returningโ as systems come back online.
