At least 20 state entities have been affected by a ransomware attack, according to the Texas Department of Information Resources.

Ransomware is a type of virus designed to deny access to a computer system or data until a ransom is paid.

Department officials said in a statement that they will be providing computing resources and expertise to "bring these entities back online."

The Department of Information Resources is deploying resources to the areas that have been most critically affected, officials said. It was not immediately clear which agencies were affected; state officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The following agencies are also assisting in the response: the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Texas Military Department and the Texas A&M University System’s Cyber-response and Security Operations Center.

Any local agencies affected by this should contact their local disaster district coordinator with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, officials said.