City of Dallas Hit by Royal Ransomware

The City of Dallas, has suffered  a ransomware attack that knocked essential services offline, including emergency services systems.

The ransomware attack, attributed to the Royal ransomware group. The attack knocked offline city websites and services, but notable among them was the city’s 911 dispatch service, causing both local police and firefighters to revert to manual dispatching.

Other systems affected include those dealing with jail intakes and offense reports. The city’s court system was also knocked offline, causing jury trials to be canceled until further notice.

As said in a statement that departments that had been affected had implemented emergency plans that had been prepared and practiced in advance of the ransomware attack. The city ticked off the usual ransomware response list: hiring third-party cybersecurity experts and informing the U.S. FBI

The straggling ransomware note claims, that the attack was likely caused by the city not spending enough money on cybersecurity and that data had been encrypted on the city’s network. No amount for a ransom payment was included. The note instead offered a “unique deal” for a “modesty royalty” for the files to be decrypted and kept confidential.

The threat actor, emerged in 2022 and gained momentum through the middle of the year, deploying various tactics, techniques, and procedures to attack multiple global organizations. The group’s members are suspected of being former members of other ransomware groups based on similarities between Royal and other ransomware operators.