State officials gathered for a press conference on Wednesday afternoon to provide an update on the response effort to last weekend’s cyberattack.
The Governor’s Technology Office, Directors of State Agencies, and federal agency partners presented an update regarding the coordinated response efforts and investigation pertaining to the recent cyberattack. They discussed the current status of state operations and services, and shared additional insights into the current understanding of the nature of the cyberattack.
State offices across Nevada remain closed because of what the Governor’s Office is calling a “network security incident”. This has impacted many services, including the DMV and Nevada State Police.
The president of a local security company says the proper tools can save other organizations from a similar outage.
“If a threat actor does hit a specific computer, there are tools that will isolate that one computer that will not allow it to expand out,” says Orion Technologies, Inc. President Chuck Flagg.
Orion Technologies started in Reno in 2003. Since then, Flagg says, cybersecurity has been an ever-changing world. He says having a simple antivirus is no longer enough to contain all attacks, and organizations should consider isolation tools.
Another way to protect yourself is to update everything.
“If your servers and your computers are not updated, that is a huge risk that you’re putting yourself at,” he says.
Flagg says these tools won’t prevent attacks, but they will make systems a whole lot safer.
“Putting all this stuff into place will dramatically reduce your risk going forward with cybersecurity,” he says.
State departments, including the DMV, Public Safety, and Transportation, closed their offices, with the exception of critical operations.
The Department of Education posted an update saying their offices in Carson City and Las Vegas are open to help with educator licenses. Additionally, the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office says they can’t access information about child support cases until the state’s Child Support Enforcement System, also known as NVKIDS, is back up and running.
The DMV says any canceled appointments during the outage will be honored as walk-ins for two weeks after systems are restored. They also say any late fees incurred during the outage will be waived.
Update from the DMV: On their Facebook page, the DMV shared guidance for residents during the statewide outage, saying, “We hear you and we are here for you during this statewide outage. Here’s what you need to know: We’re working closely with law enforcement statewide and beyond to ensure fair consideration during this period. Citizens with expired registrations or driver’s licenses may be concerned about being pulled over by law enforcement agencies, both in and outside the state. This scenario has been brought to our attention, and we are actively coordinating with law enforcement agencies to ensure they are aware of the situation and can provide appropriate consideration during this period.”
Update from the Nevada Supreme Court: The Supreme Court of Nevada is experiencing intermittent system functionality, including with email and phone systems, eFlex, and the public case portal. Connectivity is available, but performance may be inconsistent. The Supreme Court encourages users to continue to try to file electronically. Should connectivity continue to degrade, the Court will evaluate and communicate alternative methods of filing to minimize disruption.
The Governor’s Office says state offices will begin to offer in-person services later this week, but did not provide a specific date. Flagg says the investigation will likely have to be completed first.
“The FBI wants to capture all of that data without having a bunch of users coming in and re-infecting or creating a problem for them,” he says.
In a release, the Governor’s Technology Office says the state has identified the most critical services for constituents and has prioritized those in the restoration process.
The GTO is using temporary routing and operational workarounds to maintain public access where possible, and is validating systems before returning them to normal operation.
The incident has not impacted payroll for state employees, according to the Governor’s Office. All state employees will be paid on time through the normal process.
State employees were placed on paid administrative leave on Monday. Many state employees returned to the office for work on Tuesday. State employees will continue to return to the office as systems come back online.
The Governor’s Office also provided updates on how key state services have been affected. Those impacts can be read by clicking on the document below.
