Bowman Parks & Recreation files were encrypted in a cyberattack disclosed at a June 2 city commission meeting in Bowman, North Dakota, prompting officials to review cybersecurity options while the attack date and public impact remain unknown.
The reported attack affected the municipal parks department’s access to internal files, but officials have not said whether public-facing services were disrupted. Bowman Parks & Recreation operates public recreation facilities and programs in the southwestern North Dakota city.
Bowman Parks & Recreation Director Dan Peterson told the Bowman City Commission that the cyberattack left every department file encrypted and inaccessible, The Dickinson Press reported.
Backup files stored on thumb drives plugged into affected devices also were encrypted. The report did not identify the date of the attack.
The department received a message from the attacker with contact information for regaining access to the files, and Peterson said the files were decrypted after he took the issue to an expert in Bismarck. The report did not say whether a ransom was demanded or paid, or whether the files were decrypted, restored from backups or recovered by another method.
“They didn’t take the files,” Peterson said. “So we got lucky in that regard.”
The report did not identify the attack type beyond a cyberattack involving encrypted files. Peterson said the files were not taken, but officials have not publicly released a forensic assessment explaining whether files were copied, what malware was involved or how the recovery was completed.
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No public-facing disruption has been confirmed. The known impact was the department’s loss of access to internal files, including connected backup drives.
At the same meeting, commissioners heard a cybersecurity proposal from CyberNet Security. The three-year plan included employee training, phishing exercises, risk scoring and a later review of security measures, according to the report.
Commissioners delayed a decision after Commission President Lyn James said the city needed more time to review the investment. The commission is expected to revisit the issue June 16.
The incident follows a separate cybersecurity event at a larger North Dakota parks agency. Fargo Park District said it discovered unusual network activity Oct. 27, 2025, and initially described public-facing problems as systemwide outages before disclosing a cybersecurity event Dec. 5, after the Interlock ransomware group listed the district on its leak site, according to ransomware-tracking reports. The district said phone, email and internal systems were temporarily disrupted, but essential programs, services and facilities stayed operational.
Bowman Parks & Recreation had not responded to a request for comment seeking the attack date, affected systems, public impact, restoration status, whether a ransom was demanded or paid, data exposure details and whether law enforcement or state cybersecurity officials were notified.
