Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announced Friday afternoon that the city would offer free credit monitoring to all city residents as a result of personal data being stolen and put on the dark web during a ransomware cyberattack last month.
"Taking action to protect the community from the recent cyber attack on the city’s IT infrastructure, the City of Columbus today announced it will offer free Experian credit monitoring to all residents and impacted individuals," a written release from the mayor's office said.
Related: Columbus offers credit monitoring services after employee data exposed in cyberattack
"Starting today, all Columbus residents and non-residents whose personal information was shared with the city or municipal court will be able to sign up for two years of free Experian monitoring," which includes $1 million of protection against fraud and identity theft.
It's unclear how much the service will cost city taxpayers, who are already paying over half a million dollars to provide the service to city employees.
To sign up, individuals can go to www.columbus.gov/cyber or call 1-833-918-5161 with the code B129833 by November 29th. Service begins upon enrollment.
“I’m angry and concerned that the city and our residents are victims of this cyberattack," Ginther is quoted as saying in the written release. "My priority is to do everything we can to protect the residents of our city."
"I strongly urge Columbus residents and those who think they may have been impacted to take advantage of this added protection by going to www.columbus.gov/cyber to sign up today.”
The mayor will also be hosting a news conference at 11 a.m. Saturday to address the ongoing cybersecurity issue. The briefing will be at the Michael B. Coleman Government Center in the Second Floor Hearing Room at 111 North Front St.
“While this criminal attack on our city’s IT infrastructure is a complex and rapidly changing situation, we will continue to provide information as quickly and as transparently as possible as this investigation continues. Our understanding of this situation has evolved by the hour, and as such, we will continue to report only what our cybersecurity experts and IT team are able to verify without undermining this active criminal investigation.”
The city added that its investigation will continue in partnership with cybersecurity experts and the FBI. On behalf of the city, Columbus chief technology officer Sam Orth requested help from the Ohio Cyber Reserve , Columbus spokesperson Melanie Crabill confirmed Friday. Orth requested help from the Reserve on July 31.
The Ohio Cyber Reserve is a team of trained civilians who are experts on cybersecurity. The corps assists with cyber audits, network surveys, and network security sustainment, according to their website. The team is normally directed by the governor and the adjutant general.
wbush@gannett.com
@ReporterBush
Dispatch reporter Shahid Meighan contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus expands free credit monitoring for people impacted by massive cyberattack.
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