Mission still recovering data after cyberattack; ‘most’ systems operational

Two months after the city of Mission was hit by a cyberattack that impacted its records, officials aren’t revealing much about the current state of the situation.

When asked for an update on the attack, Mission spokeswoman Sydney Hernandez said that the city can’t say much at this time due to the ongoing investigation.

The city did, however, release a brief statement.

“Most internal city information systems are operational, however, we are still in the data recovery process. All external services to our residents are currently operational,” the statement read.

The city did not respond to questions about whether it was hit with a ransomware attack as seen in recent years in Edcouch and dozens of other Texas cities.

According to Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza, on Feb. 28, a cyber security incident was detected, putting the city’s entire computer server and all of the protected information it held, at risk.

On March 4, Garza requested that Texas Governor Greg Abbott issue a State of the Emergency for the city after the attack put the personal information of citizens at risk, including but not limited to health, criminal and civil records.

“I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that extraordinary measures must be taken to alleviate the immeasurable and imminent cybersecurity incident,” stated Garza.

Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to an inquiry regarding Garza’s request.

In early March, the city engaged cybersecurity experts as well as the Texas Department of Emergency Management and other law enforcement to mitigate the situation.

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