Dallas Hit With Ransomware Attack

Dallas officials say the city was hit with a ransomware attack May 3. 

“Wednesday morning, the City’s security monitoring tools notified our Security Operations Center (SOC) that a likely ransomware attack had been launched within our environment. Subsequently, the City has confirmed that a number of servers have been compromised with ransomware, impacting several functional areas, including the Dallas Police Department Website,” a statement from the city read. “The City team, along with its vendors, are actively working to isolate the ransomware to prevent its spread, to remove the ransomware from infected servers, and to restore any services currently impacted.” 

As of May 10, many of the city’s services were back up. City officials said 911 calls continue to be entered into the Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) system.

DPD has been dispatching automatically since Monday and “each day gains computer functionality with less reliance on paper backup,” city officials say.

22 Dallas Fire Rescue stations’ ambulances and trucks have been cleaned and partial resumption of automatic dispatch at cleaned locations is expected May 10.

Development Services continues to accept payments and issue permits and ability to receive electronic plan submittals has been restored. The next Pop-Up Permit Saturday event is 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 20 at the Oak Cliff Municipal Center, 320 East Jefferson Blvd. Dallas, TX 75203.

Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) payment systems are working. Meter reading software is expected to return to service this week. While usage may be estimated this month, subsequent bills will ultimately be updated to reflect actual usage and amount owed (if any) once meter reads are again available. For questions or assistance please call 214-651-1441 or visit the City Hall lobby 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

As of May 9, Municipal Court is open to provide general citation information and accept customer documents in person. However, the Municipal Court cannot accept payments in person, online, or by phone.  There are no court hearings, trials, or jury duty until further notice. All cases scheduled during this outage will be reset. Updated court dates will be mailed to the address the court has on file. Citation payments due while the Municipal Court system is down will be accepted after service is restored. You can also mail in any payments, requests, or documents.  

Library – Most public computers are down. Call your location before visiting. WiFi is available for customers bringing their own devices. The catalog is down, but materials can still be checked out manually. Materials cannot be checked in, so customers are asked to hold on to their checked-out items, even if they are due. The library does not charge late fines. Ebooks, e-audiobooks, magazines, movies and music are available through the Overdrive and Hoopla services. 

As of 5 p.m. May 5, 911 and 311 calls are being answered and Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue are being dispatched by radio. 311 is still taking service requests by phone but the OurDallas app and online portal are temporarily unavailable. Another option is service in person at City facilities during regular business hours.

Sanitation collection remains on schedule and disposal sites are operational during regular business hours. If service is missed, please call 311.

Dallas Water Utilities service is unaffected, and disconnections are discontinued until the outage is resolved. Statements may be paid by mail; however, for those who prefer to pay in-person or online, late fees will not be charged for payments that cannot be processed until service is restored. DWU autopay will draft when service is restored. If you have questions or need assistance, please call (214) 651-1441 or walk into the water lobby at City Hall Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Office of Community Care clinics for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) are open and providing benefits. Vital Statistics is issuing records, but to ensure any records sought are available before you arrive, please call 214-670-3092.

Dallas Public Library branches are open, operational, and can check out media to residents with a library card; however, residents with media due to be returned are asked to hang on to it a little longer. There will be no late fees charged for materials due during the service outage. Digital media is also available via Hoopla and Overdrive. Internet-connected computers may be limited, so users in need of online device access should call ahead to their respective branch.

Dallas Animal Services continues handling adoptions, fosters, rescues, and returns to owners in-person on a case-by-case basis at 1818 N. Westmoreland Road.

Code Compliance is issuing garage sale permits only in-person at their headquarters at 3112 Canton Street.

Development Services can review paper plans for walk-ins at 320 E. Jefferson Blvd., 75203 during regular business hours. However, while Permitting, Public Works, and Zoning application and payment systems are offline, submissions cannot be received or approved. This is a dynamic situation, and patience is appreciated while we focus on expediting full-service restoration.

Municipal Court remains closed Monday, May 8. There will be no court hearings and no trials. Cases scheduled during this outage will be reset, and updates will be mailed. Citation payments and documents due while Municipal Court is closed will be accepted after service is restored.

As of 10 a.m. May 4, city officials say they’re still working to “contain the outage and restore service, prioritizing public safety and public-facing departments” and that a group called Royal initiated the attack.

Officials say Dallas police and Dallas Fire-Rescue services to residents are unaffected, 911 calls continue to be received and dispatched, 311 calls are being answered, but non-emergency requests may be delayed. Dallas municipal courts remain closed and LiveChat is inaccessible.

Saturday’s election is unaffected; Dallas County will share official information including results, per a news release. Meeting notices are being posted and meetings may be viewed at dallascityhall.webex.com, dallascitynews.net/watch-live, Spectrum channels 16 & 95, and AT&T U-verse at 99. Contracts may be delayed.

All Dallas Public Library branches are open and in-person checkouts continue, but online materials are unavailable.

As for Dallas Water Utilities, billing is unaffected, but meter reading will be delayed, according to a news release. Only IVR can take credit card payments. Disconnections will be discontinued until the outage is resolved.

“Since City of Dallas’ Information and Technology Services detected a cyber threat Wednesday morning, employees have been hard at work to contain the issue and ensure continued service to our residents. While the source of the outage is still under investigation, I am optimistic that the risk is contained,” said Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax. “For those departments affected, emergency plans prepared and practiced in advance are paying off. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank residents for their understanding as we continue to work around the clock until this issue is addressed. For updates, please keep an eye on dallascitynews.net.”

As of 5 p.m. May 3, city officials say  911 calls continue to be received and dispatched, and the 311 customer service support number is still accepting calls and agents are still dispatching requests. For Dallas Water Utilities, online payment processing may be delayed but no disconnections will be processed until the outage is resolved. Payment can still be processed via IVR, though. 

“Currently less than 200 of the City’s thousands of devices are impacted, but if any City device is at risk, it will be quarantined and blocked by ITS,” city officials said in a 5 p.m. May 3 statement. “For compromised machines, restoration will prioritize public safety, anything public-facing, then all other departments.”

City officials say residents who experience a problem with city services should call 311.

The incident comes after the Dallas County Appraisal District was hit with a ransomware attack in November 2022 that impacted services for months.

We’ll update this post as more information becomes available.