The city of Abilene has been given a deadline of May 27 to pay a ransom or risk having stolen sensitive data made public, according to the publication, Comparitech.com.
Comparitech.com, which labels itself as pro-consumer website on cyber security, wrote in an article published online on Monday that a ransomware attacker called Qilin has claimed responsibility for the attack in April. The article said Qilin claims it stole 477 GB of data from the city and threatens to make it available for public download.
The Reporter News reached out to city officials Tuesday for comment on the article.
The city became aware of the cyberattack on April 18, according to a state database and city officials. Federal authorities are investigating the incident, according to a press release from the city.
Soon after the attack, the city received reports of unresponsive services in its internal network and called in cybersecurity experts.
Shut-offs on past-due water utilities were suspended because of the disruption. The city also filed a catastrophe notice dated April 22 to suspend Public Information Act responses, according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office database.
Comparitech did not say how much ransom Qilin demanded, what data might have been compromised, or how attackers breached the city’s network.
The article calls Qilin a “ransomware gang” that began claiming responsibility for attacks on its data leak site in late 2022.
“Based in Russia, Qilin mainly targets victims through phishing emails to spread its ransomware. It launched in August 2022 and runs a ransomware-as-a-service business in which affiliates pay to use Qilin’s malware to launch attacks and collect ransoms,” the Comparitech article said.
The article said Qilin has claimed 25 ransomware attacks in 2025 to date.
