By Allison Peck
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has signed an emergency proclamation authorizing the deployment of the Nebraska National Guard Cyber Protection Team following a cybersecurity incident affecting the City of North Platte and Lincoln County.
The proclamation, announced Friday, October 9, authorizes the adjutant general to deploy the specialized team to assist local officials in identifying the cause of the incident and addressing necessary remedies.
“This team has the knowledge and specialized training to deal with situations like this. They stand ready to support our local county and city officials in identifying the cause of this outage and addressing necessary remedies,” Pillen said.
The deployment comes as city and county officials continue responding to a breach that has disrupted internet and phone services. Lincoln County previously reported that the breach had been contained, with some software shut down and disconnected from internet access as a precaution.
The county said the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office phone lines were down, although phones at the North Platte Public Safety Building remained operational. Officials emphasized that 911 and all emergency services continued to function.
The county also reported no breach of utility, bill-paying or financial services, saying city and county finances remained accounted for and secure. As of its initial announcement, officials said no pertinent information had been identified as compromised.
The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency is coordinating with state and local partners to support the response and connect officials with additional resources and expertise as needed. NEMA will continue assisting with response and recovery efforts as the situation develops.
Local officials have said systems will be restored once cybersecurity experts determine that additional breaches have been identified and contained and the affected systems are secure. A further update is expected when services are back online.