City of Killeen cyber security incident impacts minimal services

KILLEEN, Texas (Aug. 8, 2024) - The City of Killeen is quickly recovering from a security breach that impacted internal system servers, mostly temporarily. The breach occurred Wednesday morning.

Most of the impacted systems were internal only, although citizens may experience a delay in essential services at the Utility Collections division. While the City works to fully restore services, Utility Collections residents can make payments online only, or use a pay-by-cash, check or money order option in person. For new resident / transfer / restoration services, citizens will need to call the Utility Collections line at (254)501-7800. This contact can also be used for the After-Hours service line. This information was posted to the Utility Collections webpage on Wednesday afternoon.

This breach was the result of a cyber intrusion carried out by a cybercriminal (BlackSuit Ransomware) and the City has been actively engaged with the Texas Department of Information Resources.

Upon discovering the intrusion, our Internet Technology (IT) department immediately took steps to secure our systems and prevent further unauthorized access. This included proactively disabling the utility customer service payment system to protect customer information. The department has been working diligently on restoring servers through a backup system, as their intended purposed is designed to do.

At this time, the City has no reason to believe that any personal or financial information of our citizens has been compromised; however, as a precautionary measure, the City recommends that citizens monitor their financial accounts and report any suspicious activity to their bank or financial institution.

As a precaution, the City ceases all connections with the Bell County Network to avoid any further possible impact to any other systems. On Wednesday, the Municipal Court and Transfer Station were also impacted, but services have since been restored.

After completing a thorough review of all systems, the City's primary goal is now to restore full functionality of all affected systems as quickly as possible, while ensuring the highest standards of security. The City will provide continuous updates to citizens as they become available and as needed.

The City of Killeen was able to minimize impact, recover quickly and limit issues, as a result of ongoing, consistent and careful planning, preparedness and investment efforts.

The City of Killeen takes this incident very seriously and is committed to safeguarding the information and services relied upon by our community. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we worked through this challenging situation.

For updates on Utility Collections, please visit www.KilleenTexas.gov/UtilityCollections.