Nevada Websites Remain Down, Recovery Hub Offers Updates

The recovery process remains underway in Nevada state government following a network security incident Aug. 25, and access to digital services was still limited as of Monday morning.

The initial network disruption occurred at around 1:52 a.m. Pacific time Aug. 24, after which the state announced websites and services may be intermittently unavailable due to the incident and ensuing recovery process. Some assets were taken offline for containment purposes, officials said. At a press conference led by state CIO Timothy Galluzi, officials revealed that “some data” had been exfiltrated, by “malicious actors,” outside of the state’s network.
The state’s Office of Emergency Management/Homeland Security has launched a recovery update hub in the wake of the incident in an effort to keep Nevadans informed. The webpage has a variety of information on the incident, and updates on access to specific state services.

The incident is under active state and federal investigation in coordination with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI. While a forensic review confirmed that data exfiltration occurred, the scope is still being determined. If personal information is confirmed, the state will notify impacted individuals in compliance with state law.

The Governor’s Technology Office (GTO) and the Office of the Governor are working with state, local and federal partners, and GTO is using temporary routing workarounds to maintain public access to services where possible. The state has identified and prioritized “critical services” in this process.

Currently, 911 and public safety operations remain available statewide. State payroll has been processed, and K-12 and charter payments are on track. Online unemployment insurance claims and call centers are operational. Health programs — specifically, Medicaid and the state’s Public Employees Benefits Program office benefits — are being processed. Finally, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is offering limited services via partners, but late fees tied to the outage will be waived; the DMV website is working.
Impacts vary by state entity, according to the hub. For example, the Department of Agriculture has maintained customer service with no disruptions to commerce. In the Department of Business and Industry, system accessibility determines public service; director’s office executive staff are available by email while phone systems face disruptions. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources offices are open and many services are accessible on the department’s webpage, but a temporary phone line is in use. The public records request submission portal for the Office of Energy is unavailable, and the office is using a temporary phone line.

NV.gov, the state government’s main website, was unavailable as of Monday morning.

State leadership advised caution around unsolicited calls, texts or emails, per the hub.

Recovery efforts are taking place 24/7. Nevada officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We’ll share confirmed facts as soon as it’s responsible to do so,” the hub said, regarding the data involved in this incident.

The state had invested in cybersecurity this year prior to this incident, with a new cybersecurity-focused division launched in July; a new cyber office leader and interim CISO have also been named this year.

State Office of Information Security and Cyber Defense Deputy Director Adam Miller previously told Government Technology that his federal background taught him to balance policy and real-time threats: “My goal is to bring that federal discipline … scaled to a state environment.”