State of Nevada still digging out from under cyber attack

(Photo: Alejandra Rubio/Nevada Current)

If Nevada state officials know what — or who — crashed the state government’s information technology systems and brought multiple state offices and services to a screeching stop, they’re not saying.

“The State was targeted in a cyber attack, and the incident is under active state and federal investigation. To protect internal systems during an active criminal investigation, the State is unable to provide technical details at this point,” reads a memo sent by the governor’s office late Tuesday.

A spokesperson with the governor’s office won’t say if the the state’s systems were hacked or if the state is being held ransom by cyber attackers, according to KLAS.

Some state offices are expected to resume offering in-person services “later this week,” according to the state’s late Tuesday update.

“Medicaid coverage and provider payments remain fully operational,” the memo said.

Payroll services weren’t affected and employees will get paid on time, the memo added.

State websites and IT services, hence many state services, were made unavailable beginning Sunday morning. As of early Wednesday morning, many state of Nevada websites were still down (the state’s homepage, the governor’s office) but others (the currently out of session Nevada Legislature, the Nevada Department of Employment) were up.

As in earlier updates, the state’s memo Tuesday said there is “no evidence” anyone’s personal information “was compromised.”

“The Office of the Governor and Governor’s Technology Office (GTO) are working continuously with state, local, and federal partners to restore services safely,” the memo said.