Governor’s office: ‘Some data' stolen in Nevada cyberattack

A woman reads temporary closure notices at the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles office on East Sahara Avenue Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025. The closure came after several state agencies were affected by a statewide network outage that occurred on Sunday morning. Photo by: Steve Marcus

The state’s ongoing investigation into Sunday's cyberattack against Nevada has found evidence showing “some data” was moved outside of the state’s network by “malicious actors,” according to the governor’s technology office.

Timothy Galluzi, executive director of the office, said at a Wednesday press conference that it’s still too early to tell what was taken. Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office previously said Monday that there was no evidence “personally identifiable information” was compromised.

Galluzi said that “leading third-party forensic specialists” are working with the state and federal government to address what information was stolen. If the state learns that personal information was obtained, “we are prepared to follow the appropriate steps,” he continued.

“This is a challenging and fluid situation,” Galluzi said. “Our focus is on a secure and methodical restoration, a thorough investigation and transparent communication with the public.”

The cyberattack has closed state offices and taken down government websites and phone lines, with Galluzi saying he could not “begin to estimate” the timeline to completely restore services. The governor’s office learned that information had been moved off the network late Tuesday.

“Our goal is to restore full functionality as quickly as possible, but we have a duty to do so safely and securely,” Galluzi said. “Bringing systems back online is a meticulous process, as we must ensure the threat has been fully eradicated before we reconnect them.”

He said the attack was “sophisticated” and “ransomware-based,” which typically refers to attempts to extort the individual or organization being targeted.

Ryan Cherry, Lombardo’s chief of staff, said he could not comment when asked for details on what was demanded of Nevada, if anything, and how the state was infiltrated.

Tim Robb, homeland security advisor in the governor’s office, also said they were “aware of the challenges” local law enforcement is having during the outage connecting to different databases. However, he shared little information on how agencies were impacted.

“There have been some connectivity processes that we’ve been able to establish to get access to some of that information, and we continue to make progress,” Robb said in response to a question mentioning police officers’ ability to pull up warrant information for someone pulled over.

One of the most visible impacts of the statewide outage has been the closure of the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles offices, leaving residents with pressing appointments frustrated by delays.

Tonya Laney, director of the Nevada DMV, said her office is in “regular communication” with law enforcement and that they’ve asked for leniency for people with expiring registrations, driver’s licenses or other identification.

For people needing a Real ID to travel, Laney said that the TSA will take the same required documentation to allow people to fly. She recommended people taking that route to arrive at the airport earlier than usual.

Richard Whitley, director of the state Department of Human Services, emphasized that currently there have been no delays in getting people already enrolled in programs like SNAP their benefits. There have been “some delays” in applications for SNAP, however.

“Customers are being informed that they’re doing paper applications and getting the required documentation so that staff can enter and submit that information,” Whitley said.

Cherry said that payroll for state employees had been processed Wednesday for the pay period between Aug. 4 and 17. There have also been improvements in the “reestablishment” of network connectivity, he said.

The Department of Homeland Security, through its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, is working with the state government to restore networks “for lifesaving and critical services” as well as rebuild Nevada’s systems.

The FBI’s Nathaniel Holland, an assistant special agent in charge, requested that people with information regarding the attack contact the bureau.

Cherry also defended Lombardo, who was not present at the press conference, when pressed about the governor’s whereabouts.

“His absence from this press conference is not indicative of any lack of engagement at all. That is not the case,” he said. “We are making sure that he is up to speed and he is providing guidance to us on what he would like to see done.”