Social Security, Oakland employee bank accounts, businesses could be compromised by ransomware leak

OAKLAND, CA (KGO) — Information about the personal and financial accounts of thousands of city workers and small business owners could be compromised after the first batch of stolen data was leaked by a ransomware group.

Multiple sources tell the ABC7 News I-Team that the city has not paid a ransom of up to nine million dollars, but the hackers are said to have carried out a threat to leak some of the stolen data if the money is not paid.

“Now it’s even more serious,” said council member Noel Gallo. “It looks like this will continue for a while… the impact will be much stronger and more colossal.”

According to Gallo, the group behind the attack, Play Ransomware or Play Crypt, is known worldwide for its attacks on government organizations and hotel chains.

The ransomware attack occurred on February 8 and has been crippling city systems ever since. Oakland declared a state of emergency the following week. Several non-emergency systems, including telephone lines in the city of Oakland, were damaged or disabled, but the city said 911, fire and other emergency resources and financial data were not affected. But now the latest threat is fears of financial data leaks.

RELATED: City of Oakland says ransomware attack ‘contained’ as services slowly come back online

“I check my bank account all the time,” Gallo said, adding that he was notified on Monday that his social security, credit card and bank account information could be compromised in the attack. “Now we are being asked to review fraud alerts over the next 12 to 24 months.”

The first batch of stolen data led to the leak of potentially compromised employee identities, passports and other documents, according to sources briefed on the matter.

Gallo says that over the course of several weeks, the effects of the failure have gotten worse and worse – now it is affecting his ability to do his job. He says his constituents can’t reach him because his phone line and computer are still out.

“I need to get to city hall right now for our tech rep to help me… my computer is still not working, I can’t use Zoom,” Gallo said as he approached his car. “Are you calling my office? Sorry, we’re not answering calls.”

City Hall was not available for an interview but told the I-Team in a statement:

“We are aware that an unauthorized party has disclosed some of the information obtained from our network. We take this very seriously and conduct an in-depth review with the help of a dedicated third party data mining firm. careful analysis to determine what and whose information is potentially involved, which will take time. We are also coordinating these efforts with law enforcement, including the FBI.”

VIDEO: See how other cities have dealt with their cyberattacks

The city added that they are actively notifying individuals whose personal information is identified as being involved in the leak as quickly as possible.

“Moving forward, we will focus on strengthening the security of our information technology systems,” Mayor Sheng Tao said in a statement sent to the I-Team.

Stephanie Sierra: “Didn’t the city have proper virus protection?”

Noel Gallo: “Looks like that’s what happened.”

RELATED: Expert explains how the city of Oakland could have been the victim of a ransomware attack

Gallo says it’s not just city employees who are concerned, but anyone who has attempted to do business with the city, such as paying taxes or applying for business permits.

“It really affects our lives, our livelihoods,” said Krystal Wahpepa, owner of Wahepah’s Kitchen, located at Fruitvale’s BART station in Auckland. “I find it very scary.”

Wahpepah is one of thousands of small business owners who tried to pay their taxes online before March 1 but were unable to log into the city’s website due to a glitch. For several weeks, she could only see the red warning, which is still on the website.

“All we could see was a big red sign … saying that the city is now practically destroyed,” she said. “This is suspending our business accounts.”

But now their concern has shifted from paying bills to having their bank accounts leaked.

“How was this information not protected?” Wahpepa said. “The city needs to fix this.”

Gallo says the city has extended the deadline for businesses to pay city taxes from March 1 to April 1 to prevent further late payment headaches. He says a City Hall representative can personally help people with payments or related requests while the site is down. The council member added that some banks are already responding to the leak by voicing concerns about the use of ATMs.

It is not clear if the hackers subsequently gained access to information from certain bank branches. Gallo says it’s part of the investigation.

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