The library became aware of the disruption on Feb. 24, Fort Bend County Libraries Director Roosevelt Weeks said in a statement.
Information technology professionals took immediate action to mitigate the disruption, and libraries are working with cybersecurity professionals to investigate the issue, he added.
No personal information was leaked in the disruption.
"We want to reassure the community that the library intentionally limits the types of personal information it collects from patrons," Weeks said in the statement. "The library does not store personal information from patrons that could easily be used to commit identity theft or fraud — such as social security numbers or financial information."
The library website has since been restored.
Library representatives did not immediately respond to requests for interviews.
The Fort Bend County Commissioners Court at a March 6 special meeting spoke in closed session on an agenda item labeled "Deliberation Regarding Security Devices or Security Audits." The commissioners didn't publicly say whether the discussion pertained to the outage on the library's website.
At the same meeting in open session, the court voted to retain the services of multiple cybersecurity IT firms, according to county documents.
The contracts total nearly $2.6 million, and will be paid out to the following companies: Netsync Network will be paid $1.8 million. Weaver will receive $300,000. NVM will be contracted out at $172,000. Microsoft will be paid $173.000 and Foley and Lardner will receive $150,000.
The court also voted to allocate $20,000 in funds for a communication services provider to be selected by county attorney Bridgette Lawson.
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