Authorities staff working for the county of Gloucester in Virginia had Social Safety numbers and different delicate knowledge stolen throughout a ransomware assault in April.
The county sent 3,527 present and former staff notices this week warning that their private info was accessed by hackers who breached county programs on April 22.
Along with Social Safety numbers, names, driver’s license numbers, checking account info, medical health insurance numbers and medical info was additionally stolen in the course of the incident.
Gloucester County, residence to greater than 40,000 individuals, is about an hour outdoors of Richmond, Virginia.
Carol Steele, the county’s administrator, said they employed cybersecurity specialists to assist with the restoration and notified the FBI’s Cyber Crimes Division in addition to the Cyber Fusion Middle of the Virginia State Police.
The county published warnings on April 22 and April 23 that it was experiencing community disruptions however by no means offered an replace after that. Steele stated they’re “persevering with to observe the impression of a latest cybersecurity incident.”
The letters confirm that the county handled a ransomware assault however don’t identify the group behind the incident. The BlackSuit ransomware gang stated it was behind the assault on Might 15, writing in a darkish internet post that the county refused to barter a ransom.
The group has an extended historical past of attacking county and metropolis governments throughout the U.S. — targeting Killeen, Texas final yr. The gang was spotlighted by the FBI and different businesses final yr as a result of it’s believed to be a rebrand of one other gang of hackers that beforehand shut down the city of Dallas last year. The group has demanded greater than $500 million in ransoms since 2022.
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