It joins the cities of Long Beach, Calif.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Sausalito, Calif., in experiencing online incidents in recent months and years. In Texas, the Office of the Attorney General tracks data breaches affecting Texans, although the incident in Abilene has not appeared on its site.
The city’s release Monday indicated “reports of unresponsive servers” prompted leaders to execute the plan, immediately “disconnecting affected and critical assets to secure our systems.”
Officials said they engaged outside cybersecurity experts, notified authorities and began an investigation. Telephone and email services were slowed, although bill pay and emergency services remained functional. No “unidentified financial activity has been detected,” per the release.
“We are in the early stages of our investigation. Anyone who has experienced a cyber incident knows it is a time-intensive process,” the news release said. “Every week, we will learn more about the scope of the incident and will communicate additional details as our investigation progresses.”
City Communications and Marketing Director Mari Cockerell said via email information “on the cyber event is limited to what I believe you have seen online at abilenetx.gov,” but more will be forthcoming “as soon as we are able to do so.”
On Wednesday, telephone services did not appear to be fully operational. Calls to the library and to the city’s communications office were met with an automated greeting that subsequently disconnected. City webpages, however, appeared functional.
Abilene’s IT department, with 26 full-time staff, “has worked around the clock to successfully restore our services to minimize downtime and the impact on our operations,” the release said.
The news release didn’t specify which authorities were notified or who is assisting with the investigation. But City Council documents show Abilene is among many Texas cities that participate in the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool (TMLIRP), which offers cyber liability coverage and incident response support as part of its member services. TMLIRP cybersecurity offerings include consulting on best practices, reviewing cyber coverage and conducting simulated phishing exercises.
At its Sept. 26 meeting, the City Council approved a resolution to purchase cyber liability for the city through TMLIRP.
With more than 1,000 member cities, many of which have no in-house IT, the TMLIRP provides backup when needed. For example, the mayor of Hawkins, Texas, contacted the organization during a potential breach in April 2024. The town of about 1,274 was guided through a monthlong investigation and used insurance benefits to purchase cyber software and new computers.
