Minnesota’s city St Paul shut down systems after a turbulent digital attack was targeted by what its mayor described as a “deliberate, coordinated, digital attack” carried out by sophisticated hackers. The attack triggered wi-fi shortage across the city, disrupting and suspending city library networks and other network resources.
In a press conference Tuesday, St Paul mayor Melvin Carter said the city had “initiated a full shut down of our information systems as a defensive measure to contain the threat” and added “While these disruptions are difficult, they are necessary steps to limit exposure, preserve system integrity, and protect sensitive information.”
Because the attack had “exceeded the city’s response capacity”, Governor Tim Walz deployed the guard, which has a cyber protection component, he said in a statement.
First suspicion on the city’s internal systems was spotted in the early hours of 25th July, according to a press release from the St Paul mayor’s office. St Paul leaders ultimately decided to restrict access to the targeted system and suspended the whole network for safety on Tuesday.
Gov. Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard to assist St. Paul in responding to a cyberattack on the capital city. Last week, hackers targeted multiple city websites, prompting officials to shut down internet access for all city services and programs.… pic.twitter.com/dOnBXcpQg9
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) July 30, 2025
Mayor Carter was assured to not disrupt the emergency services and also revealed that the city contacted two firms to help handle the cleanup operation and was working with the FBI. The identity of the said firms remain anonymous.
What looks like ransomware hacking, the intricate nature of the attack was not discussed or revealed, as hacks that knock out city services demands deploy data-scrambling software to paralyze victim networks until a ransom payment is made.
“Working closely with state leaders and private cybersecurity experts, our teams quickly moved to investigate, assess, and contain the situation,” Mayor Carter said in a prepared statement, reports The Guardian.
As the investigation is ongoing with the city working to determine the stolen data or access breach from the digital attack, Carter suggests the city employees to “take precautionary steps to safeguard their digital security, in both their professional and personal lives”.
