Dallas County thwarts ransomware encryption

Dallas County has touted that none of its systems or files were encrypted by the Play ransomware operation following efforts by third-party cybersecurity experts to mitigate the intrusion, which was initially detected on Oct. 19, according to StateScoop. Attack claims by Play ransomware, which warned that stolen files would be leaked should negotiations fall by Nov. 3, were not confirmed by Dallas County Judge Chief of Staff Lauren Tremble. However, officials noted that malicious network activity has been resolved through an endpoint detection and response tool and forced password resets to all users, as well as multi-factor authentication requirements and malicious IP address blocking efforts. "Currently, our work with the cybersecurity firm is ongoing. While our goal is to be transparent and forthcoming with information relating to the incident, we do not want to make premature assumptions about the extent of impact or other details, which may evolve as the forensic investigation advances," said officials in an update.