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Nevada Cyberattack: Gun Sales Halted, State Websites Down
Sep 15, 2025
A cyber attack on Nevada's state systems has led to a halt in firearm sales as the background check website remains shut down, causing frustration among gun store owners and delays for customers. The governor assures that most state websites are running and personal data is safe. #Nevada #CyberAttack #GunSales #BackgroundChecks #CyberSecurity
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0:00
Good evening. Thank you for joining us.
0:01
So, the Nevada DMV website, the
0:04
unemployment office, the department of
0:06
education, all of these websites are now
0:09
working from a state perspective. So,
0:11
good evening. Thank you for joining us.
0:12
I'm Dana Wagner. Latoya Silman will be
0:14
joining us in a few minutes. Very
0:16
different scene from just three weeks
0:18
ago when all of the state systems and
0:20
services were shut down because of a
0:22
targeted cyber attack.
0:25
Neatans should know this. While we are
0:26
not yet at the finish line, we are
0:28
moving there faster than expected.
0:31
Nevada has faced challenges before and
0:33
every time we come through stronger.
0:34
This will be no different.
0:37
Lombardo says 90% of our state's public
0:40
websites are up and running tonight, but
0:42
that means 10% are still down. Our Jane
0:45
Davenport joins us live outside of
0:47
Discount Firearms and Ammo. Just one
0:49
store here in the valley still facing
0:51
issues after the cyber attack. Jane.
0:56
Dana, in order for these stores to
0:58
legally sell their firearms, they must
1:00
run their customers information through
1:02
a background check. But since that cyber
1:04
attack a few weeks ago, business has
1:07
slowed and concerns have grown as the
1:09
website responsible for those background
1:11
checks remains shut down.
1:15
Sales of firearms have halted for many
1:17
as gun stores wait for the state's
1:19
background check system to get back
1:21
online. Every single firearm that leaves
1:24
a dealer um in the state of Nevada has
1:27
to have a background check and without
1:30
being able to run them, no firearms can
1:31
leave the dealerships.
1:32
General manager of Discount Firearms and
1:35
Ammo, Zach Wilcox, explains that Nevada
1:37
is a point of contact state, meaning
1:39
instead of running background checks at
1:41
the federal level, background checks are
1:43
run through the state. We're one of a
1:45
handful of states when the Brady system
1:47
went live years ago that opted to run
1:50
the checks instate rather than through
1:51
the FBI's website.
1:53
Governor Joe Lombardo addressed the
1:54
concerns during Friday's press
1:56
conference.
1:57
We won't be able to determine their
1:59
criminal history or their ability to
2:03
purchase a gun or own a gun uh through
2:05
the federal guidelines. Uh so until that
2:08
does happen, proper uh sale of a firearm
2:12
cannot occur
2:13
in Nevada. If you have a carry permit,
2:15
you are allowed to forego the background
2:17
check system. So, those sales are still
2:18
happening.
2:19
But those without a concealed carry
2:20
permit cannot purchase a firearm in the
2:22
state, meaning these gun stores are
2:24
sitting on hundreds of backlog
2:26
background checks.
2:27
We're sitting on probably 150 of them.
2:30
Willox says people can still purchase
2:31
the firearms, they just can't take it
2:33
home with them, but after a few weeks of
2:35
waiting, he says some of his customers
2:37
have grown impatient. Now that we're
2:39
into our third week of this, um, there
2:41
has been some people from the very
2:43
initial wave of purchases that have been
2:46
starting to ask for refunds.
2:47
He adds that while most other gun store
2:49
owners he's talked to understand the
2:51
gravity of the cyber attack and realize
2:53
the need for a safe, secure site, there
2:55
remains a level of frustration with the
2:57
state over a lack of communication.
3:00
That system that our entire business
3:02
model revolves around usually doesn't
3:04
even come up in those in those press
3:06
conferences.
3:09
He says the store does sell other
3:10
products that don't require a background
3:12
check. They also operate a shooting
3:14
range. These have helped the store
3:16
function. While those firearm sales have
3:19
been slowed down, Dana,
3:20
so he said he was talking to other gun
3:22
store owners here in the Las Vegas
3:24
Valley. What have they been telling him?
3:28
So, a lot of those other gun stores
3:30
primarily sell firearms. They don't have
3:32
shooting ranges or other products like
3:34
he does. He says they've had to cut back
3:37
on staff hours. They've had to cut back
3:39
on store hours and they have been
3:41
financially struggling. He says he hopes
3:43
that the background check site is the
3:46
next site to get fixed so business can
3:48
resume as normal.
3:49
All right, Jane, thank you. We
3:50
appreciate that live report. And while
3:52
some data was stolen from the state
3:54
government, Lombardo says it did not
3:56
come from the DMV. He reiterated today
4:00
that there's still no evidence of
4:02
personal information or banking details
4:04
being compromised. Lombardo said the
4:06
information taken related to state
4:08
processes, inventory, and state
4:11
databases.
4:12
Nevada should know that um what the bad
4:16
actor is perceived um to receive is
4:19
information through our internal
4:21
systems, not a public face or
4:24
constituent personal information. Right
4:26
now the the the breath of that is has
4:29
been identified. I can't give you that
4:31
information exactly what the breadth of
4:33
that is. Um but I am confident that uh
4:36
we will continue to be successful in
4:39
preventing further release.
4:41
So Lombardo did not go into the
4:43
technical elements of the cyber attack
4:46
saying he did not want to encourage any
4:48
copycat attacks or compromise the
4:50
ongoing investigation. He also says
4:52
every state employee had to change their
4:55
password to help prevent another attack.
4:58
No warning was given ahead of time,
4:59
which did lead to a little bit of
5:01
confusion among state employees. The
5:03
cyber security recovery page, as you can
5:06
see, is still operational. It's where
5:09
you can find all of the details on the
5:10
operations of all statewide services. It
5:13
also lists steps that you could take to
5:15
protect your information or what you
5:17
need to do if you think any of your
5:19
personal data has been compromised.
5:22
State legislators are working to form a
5:24
legislative cyber security working
5:26
group. That's Assembly Speaker Steve
5:28
Joerger saying the group will help
5:30
protect our cyber systems moving
5:31
forward. He says members will be
5:33
appointed in the near future. No word
5:35
yet on when that's going to be or just
5:37
how many people will join that team. In
5:39
a statement, Speaker Joerger says in
5:41
part, "It is clear that legislators must
5:44
lead the way in gathering the facts and
5:46
formulating solutions for the next
5:48
special and/or regular session of the
5:51
legislature.
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