City of Fort Worth website hacked, data from internal information system posted online
The City of Fort Worth announced at a press conference on Saturday that its computer system was hacked.
The city said in a news release that its information technology solutions department was made aware on Friday of a claim that the city’s website had been hacked.
Data later posted online from the hack had come from an internal information system, not the city website, city staff said in the release.
According to Kevin Gunn, Fort Worth IT solutions director, the information collected by hackers was “not sensitive in nature” and was the type of information the city would release through Public Information Act requests including work orders and emails between staff.
The hackers gained access to the information through stolen login credentials of the city system, said Gunn, who added that the city does not know how hackers got the credentials.
The attack comes about two months after the City of Dallas website suffered a ransomware attack, compromising police and other city services.
There has not been a ransom demanded of the City of Fort Worth, according to Gunn.
A group claiming responsibility for the hack said in a Facebook post, “We have decided to make a message toward the U.S. government. It just happens to be one of the largest states banning gender affirming care, and for that we have made Texas our target.”
Gunn said the hackers’ motivation appears to be “embarrassing the city of Fort Worth and making a political statement.”
The investigation is ongoing by law enforcement and computer forensic experts, Gunn said.
The city’s IT department removed the website’s access from the external intranet and forced users to reset their passwords.
This story was originally published June 24, 2023 at 5:17 PM.
