A massive ransomware cyberattack that has crippled Nevada’s state government since Sunday has resulted in some data being moved outside of the network by “malicious actors,” state officials said Wednesday.
State agency officials would not disclose the nature of the data that was taken outside the state network during the press conference in Carson City, and stressed that it is a “challenging and fluid situation.”
“The process of analyzing the information to determine exactly what was taken is complex, methodical and time consuming. Speculation on the data that was affected before we have any definitive proof would be irresponsible,” said Tim Galluzi, the executive director of the Governor’s Technology Office.
Wednesday’s press conference — which included agency leaders and FBI agents — was the first time that state officials spoke publicly about the attack, which occurred Sunday morning.
Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office has provided periodic updates to the media about the outage and recovery throughout the week, but many unanswered questions remained, including details about the scope and cause of the attack, perpetrators and financial impacts.
State officials declined to provide additional facts beyond those that were not already stated in prepared remarks during the press conference.
The attack has resulted in state websites and phone lines being down — some of which were still not functioning as of Wednesday afternoon — in addition to the closing of state offices throughout the week. State workers also did not work in-person on Monday and Tuesday, but the governor’s office said on Tuesday that certain state offices and employees would return for in-person operations later in the week.
The governor’s office has also stated that there was no known compromise of personal data, and that the incident has not affected state payroll.
“Should we determine that any sensitive personal information of our citizens was compromised, we are prepared to follow the appropriate steps,” Galluzi said.
Emergency services were also unaffected, according to the governor’s office.
Agency leaders during the press conference provided details about the status of their operations and websites. Click here for a detailed list of how their operations have been affected, as well as how the public can access services.
Lombardo did not attend the press conference and, according to a post on X, he was attending the opening celebration of the Elko temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Chief of Staff Ryan Cherry, when asked about his absence, said Lombardo was aware of all information.
“We are regularly updating him, but this is an issue where we were bringing people together,” Cherry said. “He was not available to participate in person. So you have me as a representative of his office and all of his agency directors.”
Updated at 5:04 p.m. on 8/27/2025 to include the reason for Lombardo’s absence.
