Governor of MinnesotaTim Walz took decisive action by calling in the National Guard following a considerable cyberattack that has raised serious security concerns in St. Paul. Last Friday, city cybersecurity systems detected suspicious activity on their networks, as revealed by Mayor Melvin Carter during a press event on Tuesday.
Mayor Carter addressed the press, emphasizing that this incident was not due to a mere glitch or mistake. He stated, “This was a coordinated digital onslaught, executed by an advanced external group that purposely targeted our city’s vital information systems.”
In light of the attack, and at the request of local officials, Governor Walz activated cyber protection units from the Minnesota National Guard via an executive order. Walz conveyed, “We are dedicated to promptly assisting the City of Saint Paul in restoring its cybersecurity defenses.”
Walz continued with his commitment: “The cyber teams of the Minnesota National Guard will coordinate with city, state, and federal entities to tackle this issue and minimize future repercussions. Our primary focus is the safety and security of Saint Paul residents.”
Carter detailed that local authorities quickly engaged two cybersecurity companies to aid their recovery process and cooperated with multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, to investigate the breach’s origin and details.
To mitigate risks, local officials halted the city’s information systems on Monday, which led to certain outages, including the disruption of Wi-Fi in city buildings.
Despite these disruptions, Mayor Carter reassured residents that 911 services were functioning normally, although they faced some underlying technical issues.
Carter acknowledged the inconveniences the situation has caused for both city residents and personnel, explaining, “These measures, albeit challenging, are crucial for limiting exposure, sustaining system integrity, and safeguarding sensitive data as we proceed with our investigation and recovery efforts.”
The Mayor also revealed that experts from the National Guard were currently on the ground providing essential support to the city.
Adding to the urgency, Carter declared a local state of emergency. He stated, “This will equip our teams with the necessary resources to act swiftly and meet the demands this critical situation requires.”
