On Sunday, hackers broke into the City of Hayward’s computer systems and networks. Parts of the city’s website are still being restored — but Chuck Finnie, the Communications and Marketing officer for the City of Hayward, said that critical information was not affected.
“We have no evidence thus far of any breach of private or confidential personal information," Finnie said. "Throughout the incident, our primary functions as a municipal government had been unaffected. I’m talking about 911, police, firefighter…”
In a ransomware attack, hackers encrypt files — making them inaccessible — and then demand money to decrypt them. Hayward is now the second Bay Area city this year to be breached by a ransomware attack.
In February, the city of Oakland’s networks were also compromised; and in April, the same hackers released the social security numbers, medical records and home addresses of city employees. In January, just a month before the attack on Oakland, a ransomware attack against Bay Area Rapid Transit leaked the private data of BART police officers.
Tonight, the Hayward City Council will meet to discuss declaring a local emergency — which could make it easier for the city to acquire resources to combat the attack.
