Libraries still dealing with fallout to its cyberattack issues
Cybersecurity experts believe Fort Bend County's library services could be impacted for months as leaders remain quiet about how the library's systems were hacked.
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RICHMOND, Texas (KTRK) — Cybersecurity experts believe Fort Bend County’s library services could be impacted for months as leaders remain quiet about how the library’s systems were hacked.
Rizwan Virani is no stranger to using a computer. The cybersecurity senior director at San Jacinto College works on them for a living.
But for months, he’s had difficulty operating one at a place he frequents. “My son goes there to read, and I’ll do work over there, but now I can’t do that because there’s no wi-fi,” Virani explained.
At the end of February, the Fort Bend County library director says its systems were hit by a cyberattack. It impacted all 13 branches and parts of the library’s website.
It took more than two weeks to tell the public. About a week ago, the director gave another update.
He said they’re still coming online. With some services down, the library is modernizing.
As far as when everything will be fixed, he couldn’t say. “It’s already been almost three months, so another three months is not out of the realm of possibilities,” Virani said.
Based on the information we do have, and how long it’s taken, experts believe it could’ve been a ransomware attack.
“The cybercriminal gang, they’re about understanding what your pain threshold is,” Virani explained. “Is it a month? Is it two months? Is it three months before residents start demanding answers and then you start thinking about, should I make that payment?”
Experts believe the attack could still be underway. Because of that, if you’re using the library, or sign-up for services, ask questions before handing over information.
A process that has library users, including Virani frustrated, as they wait for services to come back. “They will certainly, absolutely learn from this,” Virani said. “They will understand when this process is over, through their digital forensics, through this incident response, after action report, what went wrong.”
Each time ABC13 has reported on this cyberattack, we’ve asked to talk to the library director. He’s said, no.
More than a month ago, we requested documents that might explain more about what happened. The county has asked the attorney general to block us from getting those records because of the investigation.
ABC13 should hear back from the AG’s office this month.
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