Troubled Tarrant Appraisal District hit with ransomware attack

It’s been a tough year for the Tarrant Appraisal District. Last week, it got even worse when the agency was hit with a ransomware attack.

Hackers demanded $700,000 from the district, which assigns property values in Fort Worth’s Tarrant County for property tax purposes, the Dallas Morning News reported.

In an emergency meeting Monday, district officials said they believe the hacking group Medusa is behind the attack. Officials don’t know if sensitive information has been compromised. They have reported the hack to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Department of Information Resources. 

Because the agency processes applications for homestead exemptions, it has access to documents like driver’s licenses for county property owners.

A recent investigation revealed the agency was also hacked in 2022 but failed to notify the public. That was at about the same time that the Dallas Central Appraisal District was hacked by Royal Ransomware. DCAD had to pay $170,000 to retrieve the information. The hack shut down office operations for 72 days. 

News of the recent TAD cyberattack follows a year of turmoil at the agency that culminated in the resignation of longtime Chief Appraiser Jeff Law, who had led TAD since 2008. 

Law resigned after the Star-Telegram reported that the agency’s head of information systems was recorded saying he supported “creating a false narrative” to media about persistent problems with the agency’s website, which is critical to property owners’ ability to appeal their property valuations. 

The head of information systems Cal Wood was fired on Aug. 25. After a cadre of local mayors took votes of no confidence in Law, he resigned effective Sept. 6. He is now the top appraiser in Hunt County, the position he had before coming to TAD.

The timing of the most recent hack is critical, as property tax valuations are set to go out in mid-April. 

—Jess Hardin

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