DMW, Nevada Health Authority largely offline after cyberattack

Governor Joe Lombardo speaks during a press briefing to provide updates on the state’s response to the network security incident earlier this week, at Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. Photo by: Wade Vandervort

The state still doesn’t know what information was compromised in the cyberattack that struck Nevada’s government over the weekend or what the perpetrators’ motive was, state officials said today.

Some key functions in agencies like the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Nevada Health Authority remain offline. Gov. Joe Lombardo said it is still unknown if sensitive personal information was taken in the ransomware attack.

“We know that some data has been extricated, but we don't know what that data entails at this point,” he said at a Las Vegas press conference, the state’s second in two days, to provide updates on the response to the network security incident that remains under state and federal investigation. “If we eventually find out it contains personal identifiers, we will make that public as soon as possible.”

Lombardo said there is “no absolute policy” on ransomware attacks and the state is rebuilding its systems while it evaluates whether to completely rebuild or pay the ransom. He did not say what the ransom was and it wasn't clear what the motive was.

“While this incident has posed challenges, I want Nevadans to know one thing clearly: Our government and our partners acted quickly and effectively to secure the critical services our communities rely on,” Lombardo said.

Grace from DMV, money for schools

The DMV remains closed indefinitely to in-person and online transactions. Director Tonya Laney said that the state would waive all expirations and late fees and penalties that fall within the outage window, and the DMV will honor any appointments that were canceled for at least two weeks following the eventual reopening as walk-ins. She said the DMV is asking law enforcement and the governor’s office for leniency for motorists affected by the closure.

“This leniency is only going to apply to our customers that expired during the outage period,” Laney said. “We also hear the community when you’re telling us that you feel like this is post-COVID times, where individuals are going to use this as an excuse to drive around unregistered for another amount of time. We are paying attention to that and this will only apply to the outage period, we can assure you.”

Stacie Weeks, Director of the Nevada Health Authority, said people can use paper applications to apply for new Medicaid benefits, and she is hopeful that the online process will again be functional within the next couple of days. 

Lombardo said that state paychecks and pension payments have been distributed normally, and the monthly per-pupil funding allotment for Nevada’s public schools was transmitted to the bank this morning and is due to be at the districts by Tuesday. Law enforcement agencies can query people’s criminal histories through the FBI’s National Crime Information Center and

The state has stood up a website with outage updates at www.oem.nv.gov/recovery and expanded its informational 211 phone line.

Lombardo: Confident in deputies during trip

Additionally, Lombardo defended his absence from a Wednesday press conference in Carson City to provide updates on the ransomware attack that the state became aware of on Sunday morning.

The governor’s official X account posted Wednesday afternoon about Lombardo attending a celebration for a new temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Elko. Following Wednesday’s press conference later in the day, the Nevada Democrats circulated a Facebook post from the Elko County GOP promoting a “meet & greet” with Lombardo that evening.

Lombardo said today that he was in rural northern Nevada for preplanned events, meeting with local government officials and residents on items of community interest including emergency management after the Cottonwood Peak Fire in Elko County, energy and water use, and economic issues. As the cyberattack response was in the recovery phase, he said he felt “comfortable being absent (from) yesterday's press conference” as his agency directors and subject-level experts addressed the technical demands of the recovery process.

Lombardo said he remained engaged, receiving hourly updates.

“I want everybody to be aware, I am fully engaged. I have never lost contact with any of my directors,” he said. “As constant as 24 hours a day, there’s been constant conversation. I have never been available as your governor during this crisis.”