Nevada Battles Statewide IT Outage After Security Breach

Governor’s Technology Office says no evidence of PII exposure as FBI joins probe; DMV, agency websites and phone lines saw disruptions while emergency 911 remained available.

RENO, Nev. — Aug. 25, 2025. Nevada paused in-person services across state agencies on Monday while technicians worked to recover from a “network security incident” first detected early Sunday, according to a memo from the Governor’s Office. Officials said certain websites and phone lines were intermittently unavailable during recovery, but emergency call-taking remained online. Carson Now

What happened

• The state identified a network security incident early Sunday, Aug. 24 and initiated 24/7 recovery and validation of systems. Agencies were instructed to suspend in-person counters Monday “to minimize disruption” while restoration proceeded. Carson Now
• As of Monday afternoon, NV.gov and several agency sites (including the Department of Public Safety) experienced outages or slow response. StateScoopCarson Now
• The FBI’s Las Vegas field office confirmed it is assisting the state’s investigation. KSNVLas Vegas Review-Journal
• No evidence of compromised personally identifiable information (PII) has been found so far, the state said. Carson NowKRNV

Services and public impact

• DMV: Offices were closed Monday; appointments set for that day will be honored as walk-ins over the next two weeks, the agency said. KRNVKSNV
• Public safety lines: Nevada Highway Patrol / State Police dispatch phone lines were down Sunday but were back in service Monday; 911 remained available statewide. Carson NowLas Vegas Review-Journal
• Other agencies: Notices from departments, including Nevada State Parks, cited website disruptions and operational adjustments (e.g., cash-only fees at park entrances). Nevada State Parks

What officials are doing

The Governor’s Technology Office said it is working “continuously with state, local, tribal, and federal partners,” using temporary routing and operational workarounds to maintain public access where feasible, and validating systems before returning them to normal. Residents were warned to be wary of phishing or payment scams purporting to be from state agencies. Carson Now

Technical context (what this likely means, without speculating beyond facts)

Scope and blast radius. The pattern of symptoms—intermittent web/phone outages across multiple agencies, temporary DMV service suspension, and selective restoration of dispatch lines—suggests disruption at shared network and application tiers rather than isolated end systems. That could include identity infrastructure, routing/firewall layers, telephony integration (SIP trunks, call routing), and public-facing web gateways. (This is analysis; officials have not yet attributed a cause.) StateScoopCarson Now

What we don’t know yet. Nevada has not announced whether this was a ransomware intrusion, DDoS, supplier compromise, or an internal misconfiguration. Investigators typically review authentication logs, privileged access activity, VPN/SSO telemetry, firewall and proxy events, and VoIP call-control logs to determine initial access, lateral movement, and exfiltration. The FBI’s involvement indicates the state is preserving evidence and coordinating across jurisdictions. KSNVLas Vegas Review-Journal

Why services come back in phases. Agencies are restoring in waves because modern state IT relies on centralized identity (SSO), shared network segments, and common telecom/web platforms. Best practice is to isolate, rebuild, and validate each dependency (DNS, IdP, MDM/EDR, call routing, web apps) before reopening public counters—hence Monday’s pause in person services. Carson Now

Guidance for residents (from the state + security best practice)

• Use official channels and be patient with intermittent outages; retry later if a site or line times out. Carson Now
• Treat unexpected calls/emails requesting payment or credentials as suspect; the state won’t ask for your password or bank details by phone or email. Carson Now
• For emergencies, call 911; for roadside assistance, use restored NHP dispatch lines or 911 if needed. Carson Now

What to watch next

• Attribution & root cause: whether investigators tie the outage to criminal intrusions (e.g., ransomware or help-desk social engineering seen in other states) or to non-malicious failures. StateScoop+1
• Data-exposure update: officials currently report no PII evidence; that assessment could change after forensics (if indicators of exfiltration emerge). Carson Now
• Restoration cadence: agency-by-agency reopenings and website recoveries, including NV.gov and DPS properties. StateScoopCarson Now

Sources

Governor’s Office memo via Carson Now; updates on services and scam warnings. Carson Now
KRNV/News4 Reno; DMV accommodations, outage timeline. KRNV
KSNV/News3 Las Vegas; FBI assistance confirmation, service pause. KSNV
StateScoop; NV.gov and DPS site impact; weekend-to-Monday outage context. StateScoop
Carson Now update; dispatch lines status Sunday vs. Monday. Carson Now
Nevada State Parks; closure notice and cash-only operations. Nevada State Parks