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Hayward officials say personal data was stolen during 2023 ransomware attack on city

Hayward begins rocky recovery from cyber attack
Hayward begins rocky recovery from cyber attack 02:31

Officials in Hayward said they are notifying people after an investigation revealed personal information was stolen during a ransomware attack that took down the city's networks nearly two years ago.

"City of Hayward is providing individuals with information about the incident and making certain services available to those who are involved," said a statement posted on the city's website on Monday, adding that they are taking "significant measures" in protecting personal information.

On July 9, 2023, city staff learned about the attack, in which "intruders attempted to disrupt and hold hostage aspects and components of our computer systems and networks."

In response, the city's computer network was offline for more than two weeks and a State of Emergency was declared by city leaders.

Following the attack, the city launched an investigation and sought external cybersecurity experts to determine if data was compromised. Officials said they learned on Dec. 30, 2024 that files containing personal information were stolen.

Impacted data includes names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, bank account and credit card numbers, driver's licenses and government IDs, along with medical data and insurance information. Officials said not all data elements were impacted for every affected person.

The city said they are not aware of any incidents of identity fraud or financial fraud in connection with the attack.

Officials said "out of an abundance of caution", the city began notifying affected individuals by mail beginning on Jan. 29.

The city went on to say that people who had their Social Security number impacted are also receiving complimentary credit monitoring services. People affected by the breach are also being urged to place a fraud alert or security freeze on their credit files and to obtain free credit reports.

Hayward officials sent a statement to CBS News Bay Area on Wednesday, which read in part, "We notified affected individuals in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. As the security of the data we maintain is always a top priority for us, we are also taking steps to identify and implement any security enhancements that will help prevent something similar in the future."

Anyone who may have questions about the incident or are trying to determine if they were affected are asked to call the city's response line at 833-251-9665. The number is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., excluding holidays.

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