House Republicans question progress investigating St. Paul’s cyberattack

Minnesota Republican lawmakers are questioning St. Paul’s response to the cyberattack, with a letter to Mayor Melvin Carter this week.

St. Paul has been responding to a cyberattack detected two weeks ago. The response led city IT staff to shut down many city networks, which has hobbled everything from phone lines to online billing to internet service at libraries and City Hall. The FBI is investigating the attack, and a cybersecurity unit of the Minnesota National Guard is helping St. Paul’s response.

City officials have divulged little information, only saying that they believe employee data is at risk. They have not revealed if they know who is behind the attack, why St. Paul was targeted, or what the attackers want.

The letter from House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and Reps. Harry Niska, R-Ramsey, Jim Nash, R-Waconia, and Paul Novotny, R-Elk River, posed several questions to Carter, a DFLer, about the attack.

Some of those questions have already been answered publicly, such as one about how payroll is processed. Carter has said there are offline systems to make sure city workers are paid on time.

The letter also asked for a timeline to restore services, though Carter has said that the timeline is not clear.

“We are still without clear information on the overall scope, severity, or recovery timeline,” the letter reads. “Given that Saint Paul is not only Minnesota’s capital city, but also the administrative hub for state government, this ongoing disruption has significant implications for state government and security of the State Capitol Complex that requires transparency and urgency.”

State government systems are not affected by the attack, nor are Ramsey County’s networks.

The cyberattack, and criticism about a lack of information, comes as Carter faces a political challenge.

Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, DFL-St. Paul, announced this week she’s running against Carter for mayor in November’s election.

Her has not openly criticized Carter, whom she said she considers a mentor, but is framing her campaign around a focus on the nuts and bolts of city services.

“Our city should always strive to provide the most transparency for our residents,” Her said in a statement Friday, “and the lesson we’ve learned from this is that we need concrete steps laid out so that similar attacks can be prevented in the future.”