Authorities confirm 500,000 people's data was stolen in a recent hack

The City of Columbus has confirmed that at least 500,000 people have been affected by a ransomware hack that potentially leaked a collection of personal information.

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Ransomware traced back to the group known as Rhysida was detected on systems over the summer and now the City of Columbus, Ohio, has confirmed at least 500,000 people's data such as first and last names, dates of birth, home addresses, bank account information, and more, were leaked online. Reports indicate that Rhysida published approximately 3TB of stolen files on its blog after it failed to obtained a ransom from the city for the stolen data.

Letters were sent to the potentially affected individuals and were delivered to addresses around October 7. Notably, the confirmation didn't state how many victims received letters, or the specifics of the data that was leaked online, and is more than likely accessible somewhere on the dark web. Furthermore, security researcher Connor Goodwolf, legally called David Leroy Ross, said after downloading the stolen data from Rhysida he discovered one of the sources for the hack was the city's prosecutor.

Moreover, Goodwolf said that one of the first observations he made when sifting through the data was the individuals were domestic violence victims. This discovery further propels the concern that the leaked information could put people in real danger. In response to these claims by Goodwolf the City of Columbus sued the security researcher.

List of Stolen Information

• First and last names
• Dates of birth
• Home addresses
• Bank account information
• Driver's licenses
• Social Security Numbers
• Other identifying information concerning residents and/or their interactions with the City
• City employee account number and position
• City employment and payroll records
• Sensitive personal information of police officers
• Reports submitted by arresting and undercover officers
• Details of misdemeanor crimes dating back to 2015
• Personal information of crime victims, including minors
• Witnesses to the crimes the City prosecuted