0:00
July 18th, that's when it became
0:02
apparent there was a problem at the
0:04
city. Citizens private data was out on
0:07
the dark web, all from an attack into
0:09
the city's systems. Mayor Andrew Gther,
0:11
August 13th, talked with me, saying the
0:13
stolen data was no good. We believe that
0:16
the screenshots of the data files are
0:18
the most compelling asset they had, but
0:22
that sensitive files were either
0:23
encrypted or corrupted
0:27
uh making them totally uh unusable.
0:30
Within hours of that interview, we would
0:31
learn from a cyber security expert that
0:34
wasn't the case. those two databases
0:37
which contain private information, they
0:39
contain social security numbers, they
0:42
contain uh addresses of individuals.
0:46
Mayor Gther later told 10TV the
0:48
information he shared was based on
0:50
reports and confirmation from the city's
0:52
cyber security investigation. It's been
0:54
nearly a year and the city is still
0:56
trying to clean up the aftermath of the
0:58
massive data breach. The city plans to
1:01
build what's called a zero trust
1:02
network. In simple terms, it doesn't
1:05
trust anyone or anything. Everything
1:08
must be verified before the city's
1:10
systems can be accessed.
1:11
You must identify yourself and you must
1:14
prove your identity. You must
1:16
authenticate over and over again, not
1:18
just for individual users, but also for
1:21
I talked to a Columbus based cyber
1:23
security expert about this change. For
1:25
the people of Columbus who went through
1:27
this cyber attack last year, in your
1:29
opinion, should they rest city easier
1:31
knowing that this is the route the
1:33
So, it does give the city much more in
1:36
the way of options for how to manage
1:38
information as a general matter. Yes,
1:41
it's an improvement, but it does require
1:44
that it's actually managed well.
1:48
Now, after the cyber attack, Columbus
1:50
offered free credit monitoring to anyone
1:53
who believed they could have been a
1:54
victim of that cyber attack. Now, more
1:57
than 20,000 people had signed up for
1:59
that service before the window closed to
2:01
sign up earlier this year. The city has
2:04
also been conducting an investigation
2:05
into the cyber attack, but at last
2:08
check, that investigation hasn't
2:10
finished. Live from Columbus City Hall,
2:12
Colin Dorsy, 10TV News.
