Week of Aug. 28, 2025

From the publisher’s desk

So our car died. Well, it’s not TOTALLY dead—it still works, but it’s old, and it has a blown head gasket. Our plan is to sell it to someone who wants to rebuild the engine, but before that transaction takes place, I’d like to cancel the car’s registration.

But as of this moment, when I go to the Department of Motor Vehicles website to do so, it says: “Nope!”

Or, more specifically:

The DMV—and much of the rest of the Nevada state government—has been mostly non-functional since the weekend, when a cyberattack did a number on the state’s technology infrastructure.

And it’s bad. Very bad. If you’re a Nevadan, and you have not been paying attention to this situation, you’d better start—because there’s a pretty decent chance you’ll be affected, one way or another.

This is the lede of a story from The Nevada Independent yesterday:

A massive ransomware cyberattack that has crippled Nevada’s state government since Sunday has resulted in some data being moved outside of the network by “malicious actors,” state officials said Wednesday.

State agency officials would not disclose the nature of the data that was taken outside the state network during the press conference in Carson City, and stressed that it is a “challenging and fluid situation.” 

“The process of analyzing the information to determine exactly what was taken is complex, methodical and time consuming. Speculation on the data that was affected before we have any definitive proof would be irresponsible,” said Tim Galluzi, the executive director of the Governor’s Technology Office.

Let’s revisit part of that first sentence: data being moved outside of the network by “malicious actors.”

Not. Good.

Earlier today, Gov. Joe Lombardo offered details on actions the state is taking to get things back up and running. The Las Vegas Review-Journal says:

Gov. Joe Lombardo announced Thursday an expanded 211 phone line providing information about how to access state services and a website with updates regarding the recent cyberattack that closed state offices and halted some services.

In a press conference, the governor and other state officials provided updates on the ongoing investigation, services that have been restored and ongoing recovery efforts.

The governor said the cyberattack was the most serious crisis he has faced so far in his term.

The incident is still under investigation, but officials declined to provide further comments about how the attack happened and what data was compromised.

It’s very good the state has a hotline and a (functioning) website where Nevadans who are affected can get up-to-date information. It’s terrifying that the state is refusing to offer details on what data was compromised, because that means either 1) they don’t want to tell us, or 2) they don’t know.

Stay tuned.

It’s Best of Northern Nevada Eve!

Tomorrow morning at 8 a.m., the results of our Best of Northern Nevada readers’ poll will go live at RenoNR.com. Shortly thereafter, a special-edition newsletter with links to those results and all of the corresponding features will arrive in your inbox. Watch for it!

Also tomorrow, our special 60-page print edition will start to hit the streets, with distribution continuing over the weekend and into early next week.

Congrats to all the winners and finalists—and thank you for making the Reno/Sparks/Carson/Tahoe so amazing.

—Jimmy Boegle, publisher/executive editor