Aspen Policy Academy

This article originally appeared on Time News on August 3, 2025.

By Priyanka Patel

A week after a cyberattack crippled St. Paul’s internet-based computer networks, the city is still grappling with limited answers, while FBI and National Guard experts offer assistance.

The breach, detected Friday, July 25, prompted city officials to voluntarily shut down most of its Wi-Fi and internet services on Monday. Mayor Melvin Carter declared a state of local emergency on Tuesday.

Betsy Cooper, a cybersecurity expert and founding director of the Aspen Policy Academy, explained the potential ramifications of such an attack. “If your internet basically goes down, your city systems won’t work, your payments won’t work,” Cooper stated. “Staff who are doing every type of job at the city – from picking up garbage bins to processing taxes – won’t be able to do that work if they don’t have a way to do it without the internet.”