A group of hackers reportedly targeted the city of Fort Worth over Texas’ stance on sex reassignment surgery.
The hacker group, SiegedSec, reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened around 4 p.m. Friday.
City officials said the post spoke against the US government, specifically targeting Texas for its ban on gender-affirming care.
“We decided to send a message to the US government, Texas happens to be one of the largest states banning gender-affirming care and for that, we have made Texas a target,” the post reportedly said.
The hacked information mainly consisted of work orders in the city’s system – including invoices, staff emails and spreadsheets. No sensitive data was leaked, according to city officials.
Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (pictured) banned gender transition treatment for minors, including sex reassignment surgeries and cross-sex hormones. Texas has become the 17th state to ban gender-affirming care for teens
A group of hackers reportedly targeted the city of Fort Worth over Texas’ stance on sex reassignment surgery. City officials said the post spoke against the US government, specifically targeting Texas for its ban on gender-affirming care.
Hacker group SiegedSec reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened around 4 p.m. Friday.
Hackers allegedly stole information from a website used to track city orders.
City of Fort Worth officials held a press conference Saturday about the unauthorized data leak, led by the city’s chief technology officer, Kevin Gunn.
When asked why the hackers would want this information, Gunn said the hacker’s message “alludes, basically, to embarrassing the city and making a political statement.”
“Obviously, we want to protect the interests of the residents, businesses and employees of the City of Fort Worth, so we will make decisions that are in their best interest, and we want to protect them to the extent possible,” says Gunn.
Gunn noted that the message came from the city’s computer systems and it appears the hackers stole the login credentials to view the work systems.
He said the hackers gained access to a city website that facilitates work orders and maintenance activities for the city’s transportation, public works, parks and recreation, and property management departments – “not from the city’s public intranet website”.
“However, the data comes from a website that our workers use to manage their maintenance activities, not from the city’s public website,” Gunner said.
There is no evidence that other systems were accessed, nor any other evidence that sensitive information such as social security or banking information was accessed or leaked,’ Gunn added.
On Friday, the city’s IT Solutions Department was alerted to the message that the city’s website had been hacked, after SiegedSec reportedly published an article about the hacking of the Telegram messaging system, according to Fox News Digita.
City officials reportedly deleted all users from the website and forced everyone to reset their passwords.
Officials are working with federal and local law enforcement, as well as computer forensics experts, to review the information to “fully understand the depth and scope of this incident.”
“We continue to review this volume of information to ensure that we fully understand the scope and depth of this incident,” Gunn said.
Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott banned gender transition treatment for minors, including sex reassignment surgeries and cross-sex hormones.
Texas has become the 17th state to ban gender-affirming care for teens.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbot signed a bill in early June banning puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery for under-18s wishing to transition.
Medical providers who break the law – which is due to come into force on September 1 – could have their license revoked.
The Texas law – called Senate Bill 14 – incorporates exceptions to the bans for minors who began treatment before June 1 or those who attended 12 or more sessions of mental health counseling or psychotherapy during at least least six months.
But it says these patients should be ‘weaned’ off prescription drugs over an indefinite ‘period of time’.
The measures were inserted by lawmakers in hopes of avoiding lawsuits over the ban.
Estimates suggest there are around 29,800 under the age of 18 who identify as transgender in Texas – the third highest number in the United States behind New York and California.
The ban will come into effect on October 1 and will exempt people with a “medically verifiable disorder of sex development”.
But activists fought back. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (ACLU) slammed the lawmakers, saying they were “committed to joining the growing list of states determined to endanger the health and lives of transgender youth.”
They added that this was “in direct opposition to the overwhelming body of scientific and medical evidence”.
Transgender youth in Texas deserve the support and care needed to give them the same opportunity to thrive as their peers,” a spokesperson said.
In June, Abbott also signed legislation banning transgender college athletes in the state from competing as the gender they identify with. The bill will require college athletes to play sports based on their sex assigned at birth. Abbott holds up Senate Bill 15 after signing it during a bill signing ceremony at the Texas Capitol on June 15
The state also ordered child protection officials to investigate reports of transgender children receiving care as child abuse. A judge blocked these investigations.
In June, Abbott also signed a law barring transgender college athletes in the state from competing as the gender they identify with, meaning they must compete as the gender listed on their birth certificate.
The new law, which takes effect Sept. 1, expands a 2021 bill that barred transgender students in public schools from participating in sports that align with their gender identity.
Abbott said the new law, called the Save Women’s Sports Act, “protects young women” at Texas colleges and universities by prohibiting biological men from competing against them in varsity sports.
