Hack alert: St Paul hit by coordinated digital attack; Minnesota calls in National Guard

Minnesota called in the National Guard after a “deliberate, coordinated, digital attack” hit the city of St Paul, severely disrupting public services and forcing a complete shutdown of municipal information systems.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter confirmed during a press conference on Tuesday that the city had initiated a full shutdown of its information systems as a defensive measure to contain the threat posed by the cyberattack, Reuters reported. The move triggered WiFi outages across city buildings, disrupted services in libraries, and suspended network resources.

“While these disruptions are difficult, they are necessary steps to limit exposure, preserve system integrity, and protect sensitive information,” Carter stated.

The office of governor Tim Walz said in a statement that the National Guard was being deployed because the scale of the cyberattack had "exceeded the city's response capacity." The Guard includes a cyber protection component, which is now supporting local efforts to deal with the crisis.

Army Brigadier General Simon Schaefer of the Minnesota National Guard confirmed, “The Minnesota National Guard is providing cyber protection support at the request of the city.”

Though the precise nature of the attack has not been disclosed, the pattern bears similarities to ransomware operations, where hackers typically deploy data-scrambling software to paralyse systems until a ransom is paid.

Mayor Carter said two firms had been brought in to support the city’s response, although he did not name them. He also confirmed that the city is working closely with the FBI.

An FBI spokesperson told Reuters, “We are working with partners and lending our investigative expertise.” The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has referred all questions to the city of St Paul.