Gobierno Municipal de Chihuahua

The Gobierno Municipal de Chihuahua is the local government authority responsible for administering the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is headed by an elected mayor (presidente municipal) and a city council (cabildo) that set policy and oversee municipal affairs. The organisation provides a broad range of services to residents, including public safety, infrastructure maintenance, urban planning, and local regulatory functions. It manages essential municipal utilities such as water supply, sewage treatment, waste collection, and public street lighting. The municipality also issues permits and licenses for construction, commercial activity, and public events within its jurisdiction. Internally, the organisation maintains departments for finance, human resources, legal affairs, and information technology to support its operations. Its legal team handles regulatory compliance, represents the municipality in legal matters, and prepares formal complaints when incidents affect municipal assets or data. As part of the state of Chihuahua’s governmental structure, the municipality coordinates with state and federal agencies on programs related to health, education, and civil protection.

The municipality’s information technology environment comprises approximately 1,500 computers, a figure derived from the impact of a ransomware attack on September 24, 2022. That attack encrypted Office files on many of those machines, disrupting normal administrative workflows and prompting the immediate isolation of affected systems. Despite the encryption, officials confirmed that no institutional data was exfiltrated and that internal involvement in the incident was considered unlikely. In response, the municipality initiated manual processing procedures to replace certain digital transactions while recovery efforts proceeded. Public services continued to be delivered through alternative communication channels during the restoration period. The incident underscored the municipality’s dependence on digital systems for service delivery and highlighted vulnerabilities in its cybersecurity posture. Following the attack, the organisation began a gradual restoration of services and implemented measures to improve resilience against future threats. Legal preparations were made to file formal complaints regarding the ransomware incident, reflecting the municipality’s commitment to accountability.