Hackers targeted Fort Worth's cyber system over Texas' gender surgery stance, city officials say
A hacker group called SeigedSec reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The City of Fort Worth believes it was targeted by cybercriminals because of Texas' stance on sex reassignment surgery, officials said.
The city's Information Technology Solutions department learned about a post claiming that the city's website was hacked on Friday, according to FOX 4 Dallas. They believe the hacker group SeigedSec, who allegedly posted about the incident on Telegram, was behind the attack.
"We have decided to make a message toward the U.S. Government, Texas happens to be one of the largest states banning gender-affirming care and for that we have made Texas a target," the post allegedly said, according to city officials.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that banned gender transitioning treatment for minors, including sex reassignment surgeries and cross-sex hormones.
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The City of Fort Worth's Information Technology Solutions Department discovered a post claiming that the city's website was hacked on Friday. (FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth)
The information that was hacked pertained to work orders in the city's system, such as invoices, emails between staff and spreadsheets. The IT department said all of the breached information would have been made public via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) order, if requested.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The hackers reportedly stole information from a website that tracked city orders, but no sensitive information was released.
"The City of Fort Worth has confirmed that the posted information did originate from our computer systems. However, the data came from a website that our workers use to manage their maintenance activities, not from the city's public-facing internet website," Fort Worth's IT Solutions Director Kevin Gunn explained at a presser on Saturday.
"[There is] no indication that any other systems were accessed, nor any other evidence of sensitive information such as social security or banking information was accessed or released," Gunn added.
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The City of Fort Worth held a press conference regarding the hacking incident, claiming that no particularly sensitive information was accessed. (FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth)
Officials forced all the city's website users to reset their passwords to restore security going forward.
"We are continuing to review this volume of information to make sure we fully understand the scope and depth of this incident," Gunn said.
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City officials have contacted local and federal law enforcement to investigate the incident.
Fox News Digital reached out to the City of Fort Worth for new information, but no further details were available.