Peabody alerts residents about data breach. Expert says cities and towns are "treasure trove" for hackers.

The city of Peabody was hacked last summer with the mayor's office saying someone got into their systems and began copying certain files. Now those who were affected are getting letters that their information could be compromised.

"I lived in Peabody when I was in my teens, probably 30-plus years ago," said Skip O'Neil who currently lives in Lynn. "I got this letter a week ago. It said basically we had a breach of your information, and it might be out in the world. I wasn't sure what to think of it at first, whether it was a scam or whatnot, and then I saw it on Facebook."

Systems hacked last summer

Mayor Ted Bettencourt's office posted to social media telling people the hack is real, and that the city has been investigating. They became aware of the breach on July 7, 2025, and quickly took steps to fix the problem. Their investigation showed that the hacker gained access on June 13, nearly a month prior to their knowledge. They just started informing people who may have been impacted.

"It's not uncommon for it to take months, or even up to sometimes a year, because the complexities of the systems that state, local, even federal government have to deal with," said Peter Tran, a cyber security expert with Infersight.

Tran said cities and towns are a "treasure trove" of information for hackers, and that they may not have the same security prowess of a large private company.

"Typically, because of budgetary constraints you would see a local, state or federal government have to do more with less," said Tran.

What actions to take

Tran urges people not to panic, but to instead think about freezing their credit, putting a fraud alert on their accounts, and changing passwords.

"I just called my bank, checked my credit card statements, just the normal things. My mortgage is fine. Those types of things, it took me an hour," said O'Neil. 

On the city's website, they say they are currently reviewing their policies, procedures, and technical safeguards to see what can be done moving forward.

"I hope that they learn to guard our information more. What else is the answer to that question?" asked O'Neil.

So far, the city has not received any reports of misuse of the information that was taken, but if that changes, and someone becomes a victim, Tran suggests people file a police report.