The FBI was contacted when a cyber-attack shut down tribal communications and compromised data crippling all departments and services to the tribe on Friday, April 19 at 7:30 am. The attack targeted the Finance Department but ultimately hit all internet servers. Later that day an emergency meeting of the tribal council declared a cyber security state of emergency giving them authority to hire a consulting team to support the tribal IT director. The FBI opened an investigation and advised the tribe that a ransomware application was responsible, asking for up to $500,000 to restore services to the tribe. Council refused to negotiate with what they determined was a terrorist. The IT team then began efforts to remove all software hit with the virus, restore email, and save and restore all data. The process to fully restore all IT functions will take several months.

“The situation is very frustrating,” said Council member Winona Pocknett, but she added they are doing all they can to manage the day-to-day operations of the tribe.

In addition to the Finance department, the Enrollment Department has been particularly hard hit. Data for more than 3,000 tribal members is stored on a compromised server and is not easily recovered. Enrollment Director Rita Lopez says they are not able to issue tribal identifications and there is no indication of how long it will take to restore the system. It is not likely that IDs will be issued during the powwow week.

Winona said emails are being restored however not all communication is fluid. She advised anyone who is trying to be in contact with a tribal official or department and does not get a reply by email should call that person at the tribal office and leave a message if they do not reach them directly.