Alamo City Council Commits Resurfacing Payments Following Cyberattack

The Alamo City Council held a called meeting to discuss “potential litigation” on June 30 in the Alamo City Hall.

The meeting consisted primarily of an executive session, following which Council Member Patricia Woodard offered a motion to pay road construction company East Coast Asphalt $175,960.26 “for the resurfacing of Pearls, Jefferson and Magnolia Street.” She also added the council would reserve the right to file a claim with their insurance company “at a later date,” as well as giving Mayor Pamela Lee the authority to sign the contract on behalf of the council. The motion passed unanimously.

After the meeting, City Manager Jeffery Floyd confirmed the meeting’s discussions and decision were in relation to the recent cyberattack on the city. He declined to reveal specifics on the matter as the investigation is still ongoing.

“It’s pending investigation,” he said. “That’s the main thing.”

The June 30 meeting marked the second called executive session meeting related to the cyberattack, and the third meeting overall in which a decision was made related to the incident. In the prior meetings, the council made efforts to improve the city’s cybersecurity.

Announced two days prior for “financial discussion,” the council’s June 4 called meeting saw Woodard offer a motion for the city of Alamo and its insurance company to enter into an agreement to purchase fiber security services, pending clarification on which party would pay for the services. The motion passed unanimously.

Because of how they transmit data, fiber Internet connections provide some security benefits over cable and DSL connections, especially against interceptions and disruptions in the middle of data transfers. The material can also be more resistant to wear and tear.

Later, during the council’s June 15 regular meeting, Woodard offered a motion for the city to adopt a three year contract for a KnowBe4 training program, which passed unanimously.

KnowBe4 is a cybersecurity company which provides online security measures and employee training to “secure both AI agents and humans,” according to the company’s website.

“This is training that I think would be very beneficial for our employees,” said Mayor Pamela Lee. “It kind of tells you, ‘Know before.’ Know before you click on emails that may be bogus.”

The contract would also provide the city with an “email quarantine” system, which can recognize suspicious emails before they reach city employees. This would protect against phishing scams, where a cybercriminal sends a deceptive message to a target while pretending to be a trusted source, tricking the target into clicking a hazardous link or divulging sensitive information.

“If it looks bogus, it won’t even reach the employee,” said Lee.

While city officials have yet to offer specifics due to the ongoing investigation, the council did meet with investigators on June 16 to be further updated.