Hackers demand $700,000 ransom from Tarrant Appraisal District, attorney says

During an emergency board meeting on Monday, an attorney representing the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) disclosed that the agency had received a ransom demand of $700,000 from a group of hackers responsible for last week’s cyberattack on their computer network.

Vince Puente, chair of the TAD Board of Directors, condemned the attack as an intrusion of evil into their organization during the meeting.

Although the hackers have not identified themselves, the TAD suspects the group responsible may be known as Medusa.

The TAD took immediate action to secure their network and engaged cybersecurity experts to investigate the disruption and restore services upon discovering the ransomware attack on March 21.

The Tarrant Appraisal District, responsible for assigning property values for taxation purposes in Tarrant County, released a statement confirming the criminal nature of the attack and reported the incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Texas Department of Information Resources for investigation.

Lindsay Nickle, an attorney for TAD, stated that they are currently assessing whether any data has been compromised and assured that investigations are ongoing to provide timely updates.

If the ransom is not paid, the hackers threatened to release personal information. However, the TAD could not confirm whether taxpayer information was compromised in the attack.

This incident marks the latest cybersecurity breach for the Tarrant Appraisal District, following previous attacks in 2022 and December 2023.

Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare expressed his frustration with the situation and emphasized the need for swift action to address the issues caused by previous administrations.

The TAD’s website is partially operational, but full functionality is yet to be restored. During the emergency meeting, the board authorized the expenditure of up to $235,000 on software programs and cybersecurity consultants to aid in the recovery process.

While TAD leaders continue to bring systems back online, the county has not made a decision regarding the ransom payment, considering all available options.