Cyber-Attack on St. Paul Forces Minnesota Governor to Activate National Guard

What Happened?

The city of St. Paul, Minnesota has suffered a significant cyber-attack on local government computers and information infrastructure. According to the mayor of St. Paul, Melvin Carter, the cyber-attack is ‘a deliberate, coordinated digital attack, carried out by a sophisticated external actor—intentionally and criminally targeting our city’s information infrastructure.’

Due to the sophistication and severity of the cyber-attacks, St. Paul was forced to initiate a complete shutdown of its information systems. At the request of city officials, the FBI and two national cybersecurity firms were brought in to help mitigate the attack but they were unable to stop it. Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz activated the National Guard’s cyber protection unit to assist the city.

Why it Matters

The city of St. Paul declared a state of emergency, which allowed Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz to activate the National Guard and permitted city officials to share information with outside agencies. Internet connectivity in city buildings was down, and online payments could not be processed for the city of St. Paul as of Wednesday. Governor Waltz issued a statement saying ‘Unfortunately, the scale and complexity of this incident exceeded both internal and commercial response capabilities.’

As of Thursday, there had been no ransom demand from the attacker or attackers responsible for the incident. A growing technique for cyber-attackers is to compromise servers or computers for cities, private companies, or individuals, take control of their data, then demand payment for the data to be returned. If payment is not made, attackers often threaten to either destroy the data or release it to the public, both of which can cause considerable harm to the data’s owner.

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Such attacks are becoming more common. According to Nate Anderson of Ars Technica, Abilene, Texas, had 477 GB of data stolen in the spring of 2025. But instead of giving in to ransom demands, city officials instead decided to replace every server, desktop, laptop, desk telephone, and storage device. That required a ‘temporary return to pen-and-paper systems’ while the entire city network was reconstructed, but no payment was ever made to the attackers.

In the St. Paul cyber-attacks, city officials still have not indicated if personal data has been compromised. Though city services are still experiencing disruptions, the identity of the attacker or attackers has not yet been determined. An investigation involving local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies is still ongoing.

How it Affects You

With the rise of e-commerce and an increasing reliance on digital infrastructure to conduct daily business, public and private organizations face an increasing level of risk from cyber-attacks. The best course of action for private individuals, as well as businesses and government organizations, is to make sure software security is up to date and that personnel are educated on how they can help avoid potential cyber intrusions.