Tomball still grappling with ransomware attack 16 days later; This is what residents need to know

TOMBALL, Texas – The City of Tomball said it was the victim of a ransomware attack on the morning of Dec. 20, and it seems the problems associated with it are continuing.

Tomball said the attack “impacted a majority of the city’s networks,” adding that the city -- 16 days later -- “is working to re-establish networks and city-wide systems.”

While emergency services, such as 9-1-1, dispatch, police, fire, and public works are still operational and have continued to respond to calls for service, the city said there are “ongoing issues with our online payment system (that) has limited (its) ability to accept or process payments.”

The city said as a result it will waive all late fees for the utility bills due on Dec. 30, 2022.

“While we have initiated the recovery process, we do not have an estimate of when all services and systems will be fully restored,” the city said in a social media post. “However, the city continues to provide services and encourages residents to contact the city by using the city’s website (tomballtx.gov) to find the appropriate department contact information.”

It’s unclear at this time what information, if any was affected by this attack. KPRC 2 has reached out for an interview on this matter, but has not heard back from Tomball officials as of this writing.