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Hackers leak internal info from City of Fort Worth, targeting Texas over gender-affirming care ban

In this photo, there is a large gray concrete building with the words "CITY HALL" on the front.
City of Fort Worth

A hacker group has leaked internal data from the City of Fort Worth's online systems, city officials announced Saturday.

The city was notified around 4 p.m. Friday a group called SiegedSec had downloaded data and posted it online, said Kevin Gunn, Fort Worth's IT solutions director, in an online press conference. The group first published the information on Telegram, then on Twitter.

This included pictures, spreadsheets, invoices, emails and other internal information from View Works, he said. It's a system that facilitates maintenance work orders for Fort Worth's transportation, public works, parks, recreation and property management departments.

But Gunn confirmed no sensitive information from Fort Worth residents, business or employees was leaked.

"The information contained in the amount of information we've been able to go through has not been sensitive in nature and is, by and large, information that we would release through a Public Information Act request," he said.

Fort Worth officials are working with federal and local law enforcement to investigate the incident, Gunn said.

He added the hack was likely done to embarrass the city. During Saturday's online press conference, Chief Communications Officer Reyne Telles read aloud a message he said came from SiegedSec:

"We have decided to make a message toward the U.S. government," the message reads. "Texas happens to be one of the largest states banning gender-affirming care and for that, we have made Texas our target."

Gunn said it's likely the hackers stole login information to access the View Works data, and all users have been forced to reset their passwords. Unlike the ransomware attack that hit the City of Dallas' IT systems in May, he said, SiegedSec hackers have not demanded a ransom from the City of Fort Worth.

Got a tip? Email Toluwani Osibamowo at tosibamowo@kera.org. You can follow Toluwani on Twitter @tosibamowo.

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Toluwani Osibamowo is a general assignments reporter for KERA. She previously worked as a news intern for Texas Tech Public Media and copy editor for Texas Tech University’s student newspaper, The Daily Toreador, before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She is originally from Plano.