'Sophisticated' ransomware attack causes data leak in US state of Nevada

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US state of Nevada was targeted by a "sophisticated" ransomware cyberattack that compromised some data, an official confirmed Wednesday, according to local media.

Timothy Galluzi, executive director of the Governor's Technology Office, described the Sunday incident as a "sophisticated ransom-based cybersecurity attack" during a news conference, Las Vegas television station KLAS-TV reported.

He said state officials immediately moved to contain the threat by isolating certain systems offline to prevent additional damage.

Galluzi emphasized the careful balance between restoring services and maintaining security, noting their goal to "restore full functionality as quickly as possible" while doing so "safely and securely."

The ongoing investigation revealed evidence that "malicious actors" extracted or moved some data outside the state network, said Galluzi. However, officials cannot yet identify the specific nature of the compromised information.

The cyberattack has severely disrupted Nevada's government operations. The Department of Motor Vehicles announced Tuesday that offices would remain closed indefinitely due to the network outage. Major state department websites and mainframes went down, forcing many agencies to close Monday and Tuesday.

Authorities are actively investigating the breach, which has paralyzed essential state services.