HackingGovernmentGovernmentVulnerability ExploitStolen CredentialsRansom DemandedData ExfiltratedData PublishedTargetedMulti-Stage ChainIdentity (basic)Government IDFinancial accountCriticalActive

City of Columbus, Ohio

bd_ab0fca3ff7bb9fa0 · schema v1 · pii pii-v1

Severity

Critical

Discovered

Jul 18, 2024

Filed

Nov 1, 2024

To disclose

15 weeks

Affected · nationwide

500,00024 in this filing

Linked

6 filings

Confidence

66%

Full breach record for City of Columbus, Ohio →

The City of Columbus, Ohio, experienced a cybersecurity incident on July 18, 2024, where a foreign threat actor gained unauthorized access to IT infrastructure, attempted to deploy ransomware, and solicited a ransom. The breach exposed personal information including names, DOBs, addresses, bank account info, driver's licenses, and SSNs for up to 500,000 individuals. Data was posted on the dark web. The City engaged cybersecurity experts and law enforcement. Notifications were sent on October 7, 2024, offering 24 months of credit monitoring.

J jump to incidentP pin to compareR raw source

Maine clockDiscovered Jul 18, 2024 → Filed with AG Nov 1, 2024106d ✗ ME AG >90d15 weeks discovery → filing

Incident timeline

discovery → filing · 15 weeks / 106 days

Jul 18, 2024

Begins

Jul 18, 2024

Discovered

Nov 1, 2024

Filed

vs. sector median

+4 wks slower

This filing is one of 6 about the same incident.View merged incident

Linked disclosures

Why this link?

Ransomware claims (2)

Leak Siterhysidabd_1840a5188defe0682024-07-31 · +93dVerified by operator
Leak Siterhysidabd_c07df1e00674c1622024-07-18 · +106dVerified

Regulatory filings (3) · sorted by filing gap

Massachusetts State AGbd_cd6c46bfac4a64292024-11-01Verified by operator
Indiana State AGbd_311cc9cd07f61dfb2024-10-07 · +25dVerified
Montana State AGbd_a6d1d5c3250831742024-09-05 · +57dVerified

Name: City of Columbus, Ohio
norm: city of columbus ohio
Domain: columbus.gov

Name: City of Columbus, Ohio
norm: city of columbus ohio
Domain: columbus.gov
Industry: Governmentllm

Discovered: Jul 18, 2024
Breach occurred: Jul 18, 2024
Undetected for: 0 daysoccurrence → discovery
Materiality determined: —
Notification sent: Oct 7, 2024
Affected individuals: 500,000state + nationwide
Data types: Identity (basic)Government IDFinancial account
Data elements: Social Security numberDate of birth
Attack vector: Unauthorized Access
MITRE ATT&CK: T1190 Exploit Public-Facing ApplicationT1078 Valid AccountsT1486 Data Encrypted for Impact
Threat actor: ExternalFinancial
Regulator citations: Notified Maine Attorney General
Initial access: exploit_public_facing

During the incident: Department of Technology quickly identified the threat and took action to block unauthorized users from accessing the City’s systems
Launched an investigation
Engaged cyber security experts to investigate and resolve the Incident
Working with law enforcement to bring those behind this Incident to justice
Working with cyber security experts to implement measures to prevent unauthorized access to the City’s IT systems in the future
Changes made: Implement measures to prevent unauthorized access to the City’s IT systems in the future
Source: Quoted from the filing itself, not independently verified.

Time to disclose: 15 weeks(106 days from discovery to filing)
Compliance flags: ME AG >90d · 106dME resident >60d · 81dLeak >90d
Discovery-date grounding: letter-groundedThe discovery date is the detection date narrated in the notification letter — the defensible tier.
Clock breakdown: Statute Window Elapsed Threshold Status
Maine
Discovered: Jul 18, 2024
→ Filed with AG: Nov 1, 2024
106d 90 days ME AG >90d
Maine
Discovered: Jul 18, 2024
→ Notified: Oct 7, 2024
81d 60 days (analyst band; statutory cap is 30 days) ME resident >60d

Statute	Window	Elapsed	Threshold	Status
Maine	Discovered: Jul 18, 2024 → Filed with AG: Nov 1, 2024	106d	90 days	ME AG >90d
Maine	Discovered: Jul 18, 2024 → Notified: Oct 7, 2024	81d	60 days (analyst band; statutory cap is 30 days)	ME resident >60d

Status: No extraction artifact recorded for this disclosure.

Filing propagation · 4 filings · 4 states

View merged incident ↗

Montana State AGSep 5 · first

Indiana State AG+32d

Massachusetts State AG+57d

Maine State AG+57d · this page

Pattern: first filing Sep 5 (MT), last Nov 1 (ME) — a 57-day rolling notification. Rolling spreads often mean counsel is filing as thresholds trip per state. Why this link?

Evidence ladder

Leak-site claim

Attacker assertion only. Establishes: claim date, group, alleged victim.

Press / market report

Unlocks: incident narrative, operational impact. Still no compliance clock.

State AG / regulator filingThis record

Unlocks: discovery date, data types, affected count, compliance clock.

SEC 8-K / victim statement

Unlocks: materiality, stated response, full audit trail. Ceiling removed.

Source URL: https://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/bb45501f-6f7c-40e1-916c-97cc4079b399.html
DisclosureLens links to the originating regulator URL — full filing bodies are not redistributed from public surfaces (§4.5).
Filed at: Nov 1, 2024
Raw hash: 4123d2de831dc907e63f597b9a05769b62e3d5b69e40b5c3f62eb740104fea47

Linked disclosures

Ransomware claims (2)

Regulatory filings (3) · sorted by filing gap

Reporting entityCity of Columbus, Ohio

Victim entityCity of Columbus, Ohio

Incidentdiscovered Jul 18, 2024

Stated responseDepartment of Technology quickly identified the threat and took action to block unauthorized users from accessing the City’s systems

ComplianceME AG >90d

Extraction provenanceno artifact recorded

Source provenancewww.maine.gov