HAWKINS — Hawkins Mayor Debbie Rushing said Friday she stands by her statement that a city council member's son violated the law by conducting a “cybersecurity audit” of the city's computer system in early April.
Rushing accused Shahoub Takhresinejad, the son of Ward 4 Councilman Eleta Taylor, of hacking into the city's computer system on April 1, just hours before he was to be sworn into office.
Rushing and other city officials shut down the city's computer systems due to concerns about a data leak, and the Texas Rangers began investigating the matter. Rushing and other city officials said Tahresinejad did not have the authorization to access the city's computer systems.
Following Monday's Hawkins City Council meeting, Tahresinejad delivered a letter to Rushing, demanding that he retract statements he made to local news outlets about the incident, saying his “baseless allegations” have “substantially damaged” his reputation.
“[D]”Compensation is sought for the mental and emotional distress he has suffered as a result of your actions, as well as for the loss of income and potential earnings he and his company have suffered as a result of your defamatory actions,” the letter reads.
Tahresinejad spent hours at City Hall on April 1. Video footage taken by the city's public works director showed him working on a computer in the mayor's office. At the April City Council meeting, former interim Mayor Chuck Richos gave him access to the building to conduct a “cybersecurity audit” of the city's computers, Richos said.
Richoz contracted with Takhresinejad to perform the work at no cost to the city, but the City Council did not approve the arrangement. In March, City Council members, including Taylor, considered paying Takhresinejad $36,000 to perform cybersecurity work, despite a law that bars family members of city employees from receiving compensation for the city they work for.
City information technology experts found that remote access and network mapping software had been installed on a computer in the mayor's office, giving the responsible party access to the city's computer network. Rushing and city officials then turned off the computers in City Hall.
City employees worked without computers for several weeks until new computers were installed in late April. Because townspeople paid their utility bills by cash or check, city officials were unable to send utility bills to customers and feared they would lose tens of thousands of dollars in revenue.
Rushing told The News Journal in early April that Taylor, Richoz and Takhresinejad should face criminal charges in connection to the incident. “We know a crime was committed,” he told residents at a rally on April 15. When Takhresinejad asked who committed the crime, Rushing replied, “You, Shahoub, and you used a city council member to get access.”
Tahresinejad told The News Journal after the meeting that he had not committed any crime.
“I'm a cybersecurity professional with a lot of experience. I know what I'm doing,” he said.
In a May 18 letter to Rushing, Tahrishinejad said Rushing had 30 days to formally retract his statements to local media and deny any wrongdoing.
“The seriousness of the allegations leveled against him and his company cannot be overstated,” the letter states. “The dissemination of these false allegations has caused considerable reputational damage.”
Rushing said Friday he stands by his statement that Tahresinejad's actions were unlawful.
“Everything I said is factual and true,” she said.
Rushing said Takhresinejad slipped a letter under her office door after Monday's City Council meeting and said, “Your letter has been received.”
“It was a scare tactic, but it didn't work at all,” Rushing said, “because it wasn't from an attorney. It wasn't signed by an attorney. It wasn't on attorney letterhead. It was just a piece of paper.”
Tahresinejad did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Sergeant Sam Albritton of the Texas Department of Public Safety told The News Journal on Tuesday that the department had no updates on the investigation into the possible hacking incident.
