Columbus offers free credit checks for cyberattack victims

The City of Columbus is offering two years’ worth of free credit checks to employees and residents who were affected by the July cyberattack on the city’s IT infrastructure.

Anyone whose personal information was shared with the city or municipal court will be able to sign up for Experian monitoring, which includes US$1 million of protection against fraud and identity theft.

“I’m angry and concerned that the city and our residents are victims of this cyberattack,” said Andrew J. Ginther, Mayor of Columbus (pictured). “My priority is to do everything we can to protect the residents of our city. That is why we are extending two years of free Experian credit monitoring to all of our residents to help protect them from potential fraud or identity theft.”

Hackers gained access to the city’s systems through a website download, compromising a significant amount of sensitive data including personal information, social security numbers, driver’s license records, and details linked to criminal cases involving suspects, victims, and witnesses. The Rhysida cybercriminal group had initially demanded US$1.66 million in Bitcoin to prevent the data from being publicly released onto the dark web.

While the threat actor’s activity was disrupted, an investigation is ongoing to determine the amount of city data potentially accessed. The city is working with FBI and Homeland Security on the investigation.

“While this criminal attack on our city’s IT infrastructure is a complex and rapidly changing situation, we will continue to provide information as quickly and as transparently as possible as this investigation continues,” Ginther said. “Our understanding of this situation has evolved by the hour, and as such, we will continue to report only what our cybersecurity experts and IT team are able to verify without undermining this active criminal investigation.”

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