Officers finances compromised as City of Columbus investigates cybersecurity incident
August 1, 2024 – Published on Spectrum News 1 Ohio
New updates have emerged regarding the ongoing cybersecurity incident that has affected the City of Columbus for the past two weeks.
An online post indicates an international ransomware organization called ‘Rhysida’ could potentially be responsible for the attack. The company allegedly listed stolen Columbus City government data on the dark web and is offering to sell more than six terabytes of data for nearly $2 million. Cybersecurity experts say ransomware organizations often steal data, encrypt it, and sell it back to the organization from which it came.
Victor Wieczorek, the Vice President of Offensive Security Service at GuidePoint Security, says situations like this one are not uncommon. He suggests freezing bank accounts.
“Certainly, we advocate for everyone to contact the credit bureaus and to freeze your credit whenever possible,” said Wieczorek. “That helps to stop additional fraudsters or scammers from opening up additional credit cards or bank accounts or additional debt that might fall under your name and then just like walking down a busy city street, it’s important to have your wits about you and to understand that if you see things like flash emails or text messages or phone calls, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
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