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We have locations in Dallas, Carrollton & Frisco. www.soultopia.guru psychic Hotline Now available: 888-415-6208 Visit us: 900 W Davis St, Dallas • 3414 Midcourt Rd #100, Carrollton 7004 Lebanon Rd, STE 106, Frisco, Texas 75034 Best of Dallas 2020 awarD wiNNer Velasco, one of the most exciting young play- ers in MLS, performed superbly in front of his idol, scoring in the 63rd minute a high- light reel-worthy goal from a distance that was, well, very Messi-esque. But again, last night was just different. “He hasn’t done a whole lot or had the ball a lot, but when he has, it’s been amazing,” said one dad to his grade school-age son near us shortly after the second half began. He was right. Miami didn’t need to be the better team for much of the match. Messi’s powerful pres- ence, legendary creativity and surgeon-like precision means he only needs a few key mo- ments to achieve the desired result. It’s been nearly 60 years since the Beatles played their only Dallas concert, and it’s been just shy of 30 years since the Cotton Bowl hosted a few World Cup matches. For one night in Frisco, of all places, it felt like we got to experience the frenzy, excellence and possible historical significance of both of those singular events in one, blazing hot night thanks to Messi Mania. ▼ CITY HALL PERSONAL ATTACK PERSONAL DATA MIGHT HAVE BEEN ACCESSED DURING DALLAS RANSOMWARE ATTACK. BY JACOB VAUGHN T he city of Dallas has confirmed that some personal data may have been obtained by hackers during a ran- somware attack a few months ago. The at- tack was first detected on May 3 and the city has been investigating it ever since. The city said that on June 14 and in the weeks following, its investigation found files that potentially contained sensitive personal information were accessed by an “unau- thorized third party.” This personal infor- mation includes full names, home addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, insurance information, clinical infor- mation, claims information and other iden- tifiers, according to the city. “The privacy and security of the informa- tion the city maintains is of the utmost im- portance and the city sincerely regrets any inconvenience or concern this incident may have caused,” the city said in a press release. The city has started sending notices to those potentially affected by the hack. Officials aren’t aware of any incidents of identity theft or fraud resulting from the ransomware at- tack, but it is still giving affected people two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. Instructions on how to use these services will be included in mailed notice letters. The notices will also provide in- formation on measures people can take to pro- tect their personal information. This includes details on how to set up fraud alerts and secu- rity freezes on personal accounts. The city is encouraging people to be vigi- lant in reviewing their financial statements and credit reports on a regular basis to iden- tify fraudulent or irregular activity. Dallas has also set up a response center to enable those who have been affected to ask ques- tions and receive assistance on credit moni- toring services. This comes just weeks after City Manager T.C. Broadnax sent an email to Dallas employees saying the hackers had gained access to their data. “Our investigation remains ongoing, but at this time we’ve learned that some infor- mation maintained by the city of Dallas, in- cluding some benefits-related information maintained by the city’s human resources department, was accessed by the unauthor- ized third party responsible for this ransom- ware incident,” Broadnax said in the email which was obtained by the Observer. “We will be making the appropriate notifications in accordance with our obligations.” Broadnax sent another email to city em- ployees letting them know of the resources available for affected individuals. “The professionals responding to this toll- free call center are familiar with this incident and can provide more information on what individuals can do to protect against misuse of their information,” he said in the email. “We continue to be incredibly grateful for your patience. Investigations like these take time, and we are dedicated to getting you all answers as soon as we can without compro- mising the integrity of our data review.” The group behind the attack, called Royal, was responsible for a separate attack on the Dallas Central Appraisal District in Novem- ber that took down its website for weeks. In the weeks following the May 3 attack, Dallas officials sent out an update that said, “There is still no indication that data from residents, vendors, or employees has been leaked.” A short time later, the attackers released an update on their blog: “So, we are going to indicate that the data will be leaked soon. We will share here in our blog tons of per- sonal information of employees (phones, addresses, credit cards, [Social Security Numbers], passports), detailed court cases, prisons, medical information, clients’ infor- mation and thousands of thousands of gov- ernmental documents.” After the latest attack against Dallas, sev- eral city services were disrupted, such as 311 services requests. Courts also closed down as a result of the attack, and Dallas Water Utili- ties couldn’t process payments. Dallas was also having trouble processing applications or payments for zoning, public works, per- mitting or development services. The disrup- tions in the permitting process left a backlog of permits waiting to be approved. At one point, there were some 870 permits awaiting approval due to the effects of the ransom- ware attack. The city has since been able to process all of the permits that were delayed. Impacts to police and fire operations forced some automated tasks to be done manually, but those have largely been re- solved. Catherine Cuellar, a spokesperson for the city, said in an emailed statement that the city’s network has been restored more than 97%, and it has made public-fac- ing services a priority. Cuellar said the most recent departments to reopen after up- grades were the municipal court in May, the Dallas Public Library catalogue in June, and the public library computers in July. In late June, the city approved nearly $4 million to be spent with a Houston-based company called Netsync Network Solutions to install and maintain a threat and anomaly detection system to protect against cyber threats, including ransomware attacks. Unfair Park from p8 ENTER TO WIN TICKETS
