I have been following this story with interest. This from the perspective of the county IT director that does the hands on work defending the networks.
Most news stories get the details wrong so I won't comment on Dallas County point on but I gotta say that if the state sent someone to our county to break into the systems, physical or electronic, there would be hell to pay.
Congratulations to that small Dallas county and their sheriff's deputies for fending off the attack. Now walk through the courthouse and other offices and look under the mouse pads and staplers.