Cyberattack Affecting Residents in Central Texas

February 17, 2024 – Published on KVUE ABC News

Williamson County officials say the County fell victim to a cyberattack in late 2022 and
some residents may have been affected. An unauthorized user accessed the email
account of a member of the 277th district court which handles criminal cases.

Data breaches and cyberattacks are becoming more common worldwide. Senior
Security Advisor, Mitchem Boles, in the Heartland Region at GuidePoint Security says,
“We know that these kinds of attacks will only increase really in number and
sophistication into 2024. so we don’t see it slowing down.”

Government entities are increasingly being targeted because of old infrastructure and
they’re underfunded. They don’t necessarily have the protections in place for their data,
for their emails and for their users. Some of the information at risk includes names,
addresses, social security numbers, tax information—the list goes on.

Boles went on to say it can be hard to find the perpetrators in breaches like these.
“Unfortunately, we don’t always get the satisfaction of bringing these malicious actors to
justice. They may be in countries where they don’t extradite.”

Now more than ever, it’s crucial for people to recognize just how easily they can fall prey
to these crimes.