On November 8, 2023, the City of Rawlins was notified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of a potential cyber breach of the city’s computer servers. The notification came through the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). HSI is the primary investigative branch of the DHS, including investigating potential cybercrime. At the time of the notification, the extent of the possible breach was unknown. A coordinated response including federal, state, and local agencies began that evening.
Carbon County Emergency Manager (EM) Lenny Layman coordinated the assistance of the agencies representing the various levels of government. These agencies were instrumental to our response and provided significant assistance. DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) provided guidance and connected the city with the Multi-State Information and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC). MS-ISAC, a non-governmental organization which receives federal funding and provides cyber analysis for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLTT) victims of cyber-attacks, provided analysis of city systems which were suspected of having been interacted with by the threat actor. The analysis detected no indications of malicious or suspicious activity. At that time, with data provided, there were no indications of additional activity observed. The Wyoming Office of Homeland Security (WOHS) assisted the city and provided the response support of the Wyoming Cyber Assistance Response Effort team (CARE). The City of Rawlins Information Technology (IT) contractor, Computer Professionals Unlimited (CPU), worked with state and county IT staff to secure the city’s systems.
At this time, it has been determined that an unknown malicious actor breached the city’s servers but did not cause any further damage. No city services were disrupted, and it is believed that no sensitive data was stolen.
The City of Rawlins received incredible support from federal, state, and county government agencies. The City of Rawlins extends our sincere appreciation to DHS HSI and CISA, MS-ISAC, WOHS, State CARE Team, DCI, Carbon County EM, IT and Sheriff’s Office, and CPU.
For more information, please contact Mira Miller, City of Rawlins Community Relations/PIO at 307-328-4500 ext. 1022. Interested in receiving news from the City? Sign up for news via email or text at www.rawlinswy.gov/notifyme under “City of Rawlins News.”
