Dallas Animal Services crippled by city ransomware attack
DALLAS - A ransomware attack on the city of Dallas continues to leave the city without access to important computer systems for the third day.
Due to technical issues caused by the attack, Dallas Animal Services is urging the public to not surrender any animals right now unless it is an emergency.
The assistant director says they need time to get a new paper system up and running. The shelter is still open for adoptions and fostering.
DAS is one of many city departments now locked out of the computer systems that they need to operate.
"The ransomware attack is affecting us in the most serious of ways because it has impacted our ability to see information about the animals, our server, and our software, Chameleon, is completely inaccessible to us," said DAS Asst. Director Mary Martin.
It's part of a massive ransomware attack that happened early Wednesday morning affecting Dallas police, fire, water utilities, and municipal court.
Martin says they have been getting help from colleagues in New Mexico, who were locked out of their computer system for six weeks.
"We talked to them about who they handled it," she said. "They created a shelter in a box using Chameleon on paper like we used to do in the old days, creating a file for every animal in the building. That takes time, literally every kennel."
Martin says if someone already started the process to adopt or foster a dog or cat, they should call or visit the shelter because the workers don't have access to that information right now.
Featured
City of Dallas attacked by ransomware gang 'Royal', city services still affected
The Dallas Public Library, Dallas Water Utilities, courts and more have been affected by the cyberattack.
The shelter is giving owners more time to come claim dogs.
"They can't see them online," Martin said. "It’s harder to claim them. We’re trying to give everyone time to claim their pets."
DAS is still moving forward with adoptions and fosters.
"Be patient. We apologize, but we can't help this," Martin said. "If you want to adopt, don't let this stop you. Now is the time to come!"
The city's IT director will be briefing the Dallas City Council on Monday at 1:00 p.m.
The city has yet to hold a news conference or agree to any interviews on the security breach affecting so many departments.