(TNS) \u2014 The City of St. Paul is notifying residents and employees whose personal information may have been compromised during last summer\u2019s cybersecurity attack against the city.<\/p>\n
The city detected the cyber attack<\/a> on July 25 last year, eventually requiring the city to fully shut down its networks<\/a> to prevent more damage. Hackers posted data accessed from the attack in August, though then- St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter called the contents \u201cvaried and unsystematic.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to Carter declaring a state of local emergency at the time, Gov. Tim Walz also activated the Minnesota National Guard\u2019s 177th Cyber Protection Team to aid the city in its efforts to reset systems. Officials seemed confident they avoided widespread problems by catching the hack very early.<\/p>\n The City of St. Paul is offering anyone affected by the breach one year of free IDX identity protection services and has a dedicated call center to answer questions from people who are notified by the city or believe they may be affected. The call center can be reached at 1-888-204-2071.<\/p>\n Data posted by the hackers came from a shared network drive used by the Parks and Recreation Department where employees stored personal files. The data was not tied to core systems like payroll or licensing.<\/p>\n Files included images of employee identification cards submitted to human resources, work documents, or even personal items such as recipes.<\/p>\n It was not believed hackers obtained any sensitive or valuable information because they posted it for free online after the city refused to pay a ransom, according to city officials.<\/p>\n They also said there was no evidence that resident information, such as names, addresses and phone numbers, was affected.<\/p>\n St. Paul officials partnered with federal, state, and local law enforcement partners and contracted a forensic investigator to review the affected data to identify whose information may have been accessed in the hack. Since that review is now complete, the city is notifying affected employees and residents.<\/p>\n An independent After-Action Review of the cyber attack also has been completed by the city. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her\u2019s administration also is implementing its recommendations to protect against future threats.<\/p>\n To see the city\u2019s investigation report of the cyber attack, go to StPaul.gov\/2025CyberIncident<\/a>.<\/p>\n