Expert: Cyberattacks on local governments are no longer rare

Two recent cyberattacks have highlighted the risk that hackers pose to local governments. Last week, Spring Lake Park School District canceled school for two days after its technology team learned an outside actor had infiltrated its systems. A week before that, Winona County took its systems offline in response to its second cyberattack this year — the first was in January. Both Spring Lake Park schools and Winona County said they were working with law enforcement and cybersecurity consultants to understand what happened. Cyberattacks are becoming more common and more advanced, according to the state’s information technology agency, MNIT. Local governments and contractors reported 269 cybersecurity incidents to the state between December 2024 and November 2025 — that averages to about five incidents a week.Faisal Kaleem is director of cybersecurity and cyber operations programs at Metro State University. He joined Minnesota Now host Nina Moini to talk about a growing trend of cyberattacks.