Ransomware and cyber attacks have become a new "form of warfare."
That’s what U.S Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency at the time, told an audience at the Army’s Institute of Land Warfare Winter Symposium in 2009.
“You need to think about cyberspace as a form of warfare that can be used against you, to collect on you, to target you, to blow up devices around you, and to initiate those devices," said Alexander.
In the 16 years since Alexander’s ominous warning, ransomware has become even more prevalent.
According to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ransomware attacks from January through June 2024 totaled 2,321, a slight increase from the number recorded during the first six months of 2023. Some of those include attacks on local government agencies here in Texas.
The steady increase in cyberattacks was highlighted during a hearing held by the Texas House’s Delivery of Government Efficiency (or DOGE) Committee on Wednesday.
“In 2024 alone, as reported to the Office of the Attorney General, systems containing the sensitive personal information profiles of over 15 million Texans were compromised in data breaches,” said Southlake Republican Rep. Giovanni Capriglione.
He was introducing House Bill 150, legislation he authored that would create a Cyber Command Center at the University of Texas at San Antonio, an idea Gov. Greg Abbott designated an emergency item for lawmakers during his State of the State address last month.
“We must harness those assets to protect against threats from China, Iran, Russia, and other foreign enemies, " said Abbott. “They could cripple our power, water, and communications with cyberattacks. We must use cutting-edge capabilities to secure our state.”
In an attempt to stress why Texas needed such a center, Rep. Capriglione told committee members about specific ransomware attacks that took place in the districts they represent.
“In one attack at UT Health East Texas, there was a ransomware attack that accessed all private health information with over 15,000 Texas constituents affected,” said Capriglione.
David Dunmore with the Texas Public Policy Foundation highlighted another attack during testimony in support of HB 150.
“In Muleshoe, Texas, last year, there was a water tower that overflowed,” said Dummore. And it was later revealed that it was a Russian cyber-terrorist organization, Cyber Army, that hacked into their Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system.”
The measure wasn’t passed out of the DOGE committee on Wednesday. But, given that the bill is a priority for Gov. Abbott, it’s likely to gain more attention as the legislative session continues.
The 89th Legislature’s regular session, which is scheduled to end on June 2, is nearly halfway through.
