Modesto PD confirmed that they suffered a ransomware attack

Last month, the Modesto Police Department in California suffered a security incident that was eventually confirmed as a ransomware attack. Modesto PD stated that the attack may have affected people’s personal information, such as driver’s licenses and Social Security numbers.

The initial reports have yet to confirm the exact number of affected people and in what community they reside. Moreover, the Police Department has yet to discover if the threat actors accessed the data of city workers or public individuals.

Fortunately, the alleged ransomware attack did not disrupt their emergency hotlines; hence, the public was not at risk during the cybercriminal incident. The city government claimed the campaign did not interrupt 911 calls and public services.

 

A representative of Modesto PD insisted that their force would not provide any ransom.

 

Modesto PD did not pay a ransom to the hackers. The police force also declined to reveal the amount or nature of the ransom.

The police force’s spokesperson stated that the threat actors disconnected the Modesto Police Department’s digital network from the rest of the city’s network and that the incident only impacted the PD’s network.

Modesto PD’s IT team noticed some suspicious activities last month but has not yet confirmed if it is the same campaign.

The city only admitted that it spotted some unusual activity on its digital network on February 8 after a local media news group inquired regarding the topic. The city only gave a few details regarding the incident.

The city also explained that they needed to maintain the integrity of their investigation; therefore, they could only provide limited answers to the newspaper reporter’s inquiry.

Still, the local media reported the incident by collecting information from several anonymous sources. According to their report, the unusual activity is a cybersecurity attack that impacted the laptops of Modesto’s patrol vehicles and other information technology.

Modesto PD is still working with cybersecurity experts and law enforcement agencies to address the incident.