Dallas County is responding to a cyber-attack. Officials now say it was first detected on Oct. 19 and containment appears to have been successful. NBC 5’s Ken Kalthoff reports on what is at stake.
Dallas County is the latest government entity to be targeted in a cyber attack.
County Judge Clay Jenkins released a statement Monday saying the county learned of the attack 11 days ago and that they took steps to contain it.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
![Watch button](https://media.nbcnewyork.com/assets/editorial/national/images/cta-eye-icon-white.png)
Jenkins said the county hired an external cybersecurity firm to conduct a comprehensive forensic investigation into the breach and determine the extent of the impact.
At this time, no further details were revealed about the depth of the breach and county officials only said it affected "a portion of its environment."
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
![Newsletter button](https://media.nbcnewyork.com/assets/editorial/national/images/cta-mail-icon-white.png)
"Our foremost priority is the safety and security of our employees, the residents, and the public we serve. We have put in place stringent security protocols to safeguard our systems and data and are collaborating closely with our external cybersecurity specialists and law enforcement to address this situation," Jenkins said in a statement.
Jenkins said the county wants to wait until the investigation is complete before sharing any other information about the attack.
"As the investigation is still ongoing, we do not want to make premature assumptions about the extent of impact or other details, which may evolve as the forensic investigation advances. We value the trust and credibility we have established with our residents and partners and strive to maintain accuracy in the information we share. The County will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available," Jenkins said.