Seattle Housing Authority hit by NoEscape ransomware gang
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The NoEscape ransomware group has announced on their website that they have successfully breached the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA). They allege to have encrypted SHA's primary servers and extracted 158 GB of data.
According to their statement, they possess 400,000 confidential documents.
These documents supposedly include
- data protected under the Privacy Act,
- confidential contracts and non-disclosure agreements,
- various personal identification documents such as passports and social security cards,
- an array of organizational files ranging from audits,
- HR details,
- accounting to client information from over 150 employee computers.
They also claim to have numerous scanned documents, covering topics like insurance, banking, analytics, and a multitude of other sensitive and private information.
Nevertheless, there's no concrete evidence provided to support their assertions as the crime group hasn't shared any screenshots or sample files.
As of now, the SHA's official website doesn't show any signs of the data incident and is operating as usual.
Update - as of 16th of January 2024 the Seattle Housing Authority confirmed it has experienced a data breach in October 2023, impacting an unspecified number of employees and tenants. Despite the incident being contained immediately and federal law enforcement being notified, it took several months for the SHA to inform affected individuals, with the latest notifications sent out on January 16, 2024. The delay was attributed to the time required to collaborate with a cybersecurity firm to identify the affected parties.
Affected individuals, including tenants, expressed frustration over the breach, fearing the potential consequences on their personal and family lives. The SHA has assured that there is no evidence of the information being used for identity theft. As a remedial measure, SHA is offering two years of free credit protection and monitoring to those impacted by the breach.
There is no information available regarding the number of affected individuals or the value of the incident.
