Nevada struggles through second week of massive ransomware attack recovery

Nevada residents continue to face widespread service disruptions as the state enters its second week of recovery from what officials describe as a “sophisticated” ransomware attack that has crippled government operations across the Silver State.

DMV services partially restored

After more than a week of complete closure, Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles offices reopened Tuesday with limited services available. The agency announced it would honor all appointments canceled between August 25-30 as walk-ins, though identification and driver’s license services remain unavailable.

DMV Director Tonya Laney confirmed the agency is waiving all late fees and penalties resulting from the closure. Online services have been partially restored, including registration renewals, driver history printouts, and personalized plate ordering. However, the DMV website primarily serves to inform residents about service availability rather than process transactions.

“We hear you, and we are here for you during this statewide outage,” the DMV posted on social media. “We are actively coordinating with law enforcement agencies to ensure they are aware of the situation and can provide appropriate consideration during this period.”

Data breach confirmed

During a Wednesday press conference, Chief Information Officer Timothy Galluzi confirmed that hackers had successfully extracted data from state systems, marking this as more than just a service disruption. While officials acknowledged data was “exfiltrated,” they could not yet identify what specific information was compromised.

“At this stage of our intensive investigation, we cannot yet identify or classify the specific nature of this data,” Galluzi said. “Speculation on what data was affected before we have definitive proof would be irresponsible.”

Nevada law requires notification only if specific types of personal data are breached, including Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit card information, or health insurance ID numbers combined with names—and only if that data was unencrypted.

Unprecedented statewide impact

Cybersecurity experts describe the Nevada attack as potentially the first documented case of a ransomware attack effectively crippling nearly an entire U.S. state government. While previous incidents in Kansas and Colorado targeted single departments, Nevada’s shutdown has stretched across multiple agencies.

“Now they’re hitting government, like the small, not big federal, but state and local community,” said Greg Moody, professor of information systems at UNLV. “And so that’s been the trend for the past 12 to 18 months.”

The attack has affected numerous state agencies including the Department of Public Safety, Department of Human Services, Department of Business and Industry, and the Nevada Supreme Court’s electronic filing systems.

Emergency services maintained

Despite the widespread outage, critical services have remained operational:

• 911 emergency services continue functioning
• Nevada State Police Highway Patrol phone lines and dispatch remain active
• State payroll has been processed
• K-12 and charter school payments have been submitted
• Unemployment online claims and call centers are operating
• Medicaid and Nevada Public Employees’ Benefits Program continue processing

Recovery efforts ongoing

Governor Joe Lombardo, addressing the crisis Thursday, acknowledged public frustration while defending the state’s response. “We’re working through it,” he said. “And I understand everybody’s frustration. I’m frustrated. I wish I had the answers currently, but I have confidence in our response and our continued evaluation.”

The state launched a temporary website Monday to provide twice-daily updates on recovery efforts and expanded its 211 phone service to handle questions about accessing state services during the outage.

Federal agencies including the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are assisting Nevada’s recovery efforts. However, officials have not disclosed details about the perpetrators or whether a ransom was demanded, citing the ongoing investigation.

Residents urged to remain vigilant

State officials warned Nevadans to be cautious of potential scams following the breach. The state emphasized it will never request passwords or bank details via phone or email, and urged residents to verify any unexpected requests for personal information.

As recovery efforts continue into their second week, the incident underscores the vulnerability of state and local governments to sophisticated cyber attacks. An analysis from software company Comparitech documented 525 ransomware attacks on U.S. government entities since 2018, resulting in an estimated $1.09 billion lost to downtime.

For Nevada residents, the path to full service restoration remains uncertain as officials work to rebuild systems while investigating the full scope of the breach.

Image Sources: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/nevada/nevada-enters-day-8-of-recovery-from-massive-cyberattack-3432433/

Category: Technology
Subcategory: Cybersecurity & Data Breaches
Date: 09/1/2025