Government Software Provider Tyler Hit With Ransomware Attack

Tyler Technologies, Inc’s TYL services were disrupted on Wednesday on account of a hacking, Reuters reported.

What Happened: The Plano, Texas-based company, whose services are used by election officials to display results, told Reuters by email that an unknown party had hacked its internal systems.

The technology company reportedly earlier warned its clients regarding the attack.

In both the emails, the firm said it believed clients’ software had not been affected, Reuters reported.

“We have since engaged outside IT security and forensics experts to conduct a detailed review and help us securely restore affected equipment. We are implementing enhanced monitoring systems, and we have notified law enforcement,” the company’s Chief Information Officer Matt Bieri told KrebsOnSecurity, a daily blog focused on computer security and cybercrime. 

Why It Matters: The outage at Tyler affected local government systems and led to the inability of people to pay their water bills or make court payments, readership familiar with the matter told KrebsOnSecurity. 

The publication noted that depending on the time it takes for Tyler to recover, it could affect the ability of many states and localities to process payments for services or provide resources online.

In July, Twitter Inc TWTR was hacked leading to accounts of several high-profile persons being affected such as Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk, Microsoft Corporation MSFT co-founder Bill Gates, and former President Barack Obama. 

Price Action: Tyler shares closed nearly 1.5% lower at $338.80 on Wednesday.