Following a cyberattack by a ransomware group that shut down city services and exposed the personally identifiable information of Columbus employees, the city is offering credit monitoring services to employees who may have been affected by the data breach, the mayor’s office announced in a press release Thursday.
All Columbus Municipal Court judges and all Franklin County Municipal Court clerks are receiving instructions directly from the city on how to sign up for Experian credit monitoring services after city employees, including Columbus police officers, had their bank account information stolen in the ransomware attack.
The city said it is continuing to investigate the situation and is working with cybersecurity experts, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The mayor’s office cited the ongoing criminal investigation and said its ability to comment on the cyberattack “remains limited.” City officials said they are working to identify individuals whose personal information may have been exposed and will provide guidance to anyone who may have been affected.
The offering of credit monitoring services is the latest in a cybersecurity debacle that has left city agencies and their employees scrambling to continue their duties. The Dispatch reported Thursday that Rhysida, an international ransomware group that has attacked targets in the U.K., U.S. and Chile, posted stolen Columbus city government data on its dark website and offered it for sale on Wednesday. The announcement of the ransomware group’s attack came just days after Mayor Andrew Ginther’s office said the city had thwarted the ransomware group’s cyberattack but that data may have been stolen.
Municipal services, including the Parking Services department and the Construction and Spatial Planning department, are still recovering from the cyber attack.
City of Columbus employees or technology users who observe unusual IT activity or believe a City email account has been compromised are asked to report it to abuse@columbus.gov for investigation. Employees are also encouraged to use different passwords for their various personal accounts.
smeighan@dispatch.com
@ShahidMeighan
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: City of Columbus offers credit monitoring services after data breach
