DALLAS — The city of Dallas issued a formal notice Thursday regarding the ransomware incident last May, detailing how an unauthorized third party downloaded city data and accessed servers for nearly a month.
An unauthorized third party downloaded the city's data from certain servers between April 7 and May 4, with the city first detecting the incident on May 3.
Since that time, the city has been engaged in an investigation into the cause of the incident and reviewing any information accessed, along with the help of a team of cybersecurity professionals.
On June 14 and the following weeks, the city said the investigation determined files containing sensitive information relating to certain people were accessed -- including full names, addresses, social security numbers, insurance information and clinical information.
The investigation is still ongoing, the city added, but the city has begun sending notice letters to those potentially involved in the incident in accordance with the law.
"Although the City is not aware of any identity theft or fraud resulting from this incident, it will provide involved individuals with two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services," the city said in a statement. "Instructions on how to activate the credit monitoring service will be included in the mailed notice letter, along with additional information about the measures individuals can choose to take to protect their personal information, such as instructions on how to set up fraud alerts and security freezes on personal accounts."
Steps have been taken to identify and remediate what caused the incident, the city said, and individuals are encouraged to review financial statements and credit reports regularly to look for any fraudulent or irregular activities.
A dedicated response center has also been established for anyone effected to send questions and get help with credit monitoring services.
Anyone who believes they are affected but haven't received a letter by Aug. 25 is encouraged to call 833-627-2708 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.