Patelco Credit Union shuts down systems due to ransomware attack

Patelco Credit Union announced that it became subject to a ransomware attack, prompting it to shut down some of its customer-facing financial systems to mitigate the incident’s impact.

The affected entity is an American credit union with assets that reach about $9 billion. It provides comprehensive financial services, including checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, investment options, and insurance products.

Moreover, this California-based non-profit organisation has over 400,000 members and operates 37 branches throughout Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose. The company stated that the ransomware attack happened on the day they announced a status update that addresses service interruptions.

 

Patelco Credit Union reported a ransomware attack on June 29, 2024.

 

Patelco Credit Union explained that the ransomware attack has forced it to immediately shut down its day-to-day banking systems to isolate the attack and address the issue.

However, the affected company revealed in its status update that its online banking, smartphone apps, and call centre services are not yet available are not yet available to prevent further compromise.

Electronic transactions like transfers, direct deposits, balance inquiries, and payments are also unavailable due to the ransomware incident. On the other hand, debit and credit card transactions are available, but they have restricted capacity. According to the organisation, its members can still withdraw cash from ATMs, and the remediation process has not affected them.

Still, the company anticipates customer service delays and apologises in advance for the situation. Hence, it requests its members to be patient as its team tries to get everything back online.

No ransomware group has yet to claim responsibility for the attack on Patelco, so the attackers remain unknown. However, a ransomware attack sometimes entails data theft for use in the extortion phase, which might include sensitive personal and financial information of Patelco members.

Further, the corporation has not yet confirmed the risk of a consumer data breach since its investigation is still in its early stages.

Patelco clients should be cautious in engaging with unsolicited communications or messages asking for personal information and should closely monitor account activity as the unknown attackers could use potentially impacted data to execute other illegal activities like phishing and fraud.