Pittsburgh Regional Transit discloses ransomware attack
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Pittsburgh Regional Transit is investigating a ransomware attack that targeted the transit agency’s communications operations last week and briefly disrupted dispatchers from tracking vehicles on its light-rail line.
The scope of the attack remains unclear. Adam Brandolph, an agency spokesperson, told TribLive on Monday evening it appeared primarily to affect “communications in our light-rail center for a couple of hours” last Thursday.
He declined to elaborate and wouldn’t comment on what hackers accessed, whether they demanded a ransom or what data they might have taken.
The agency activated a cyber-incident response team, notified law enforcement and began working with “third-party cybersecurity and data forensics experts” to assess whether information was compromised, the transit agency said Monday in a prepared statement.
Transit services are operating normally.
Commuters do not need to change their plans or routines, Brandolph said. The transit agency’s customer service center, however, is temporarily unable to accept or process ConnectCards for senior citizens and children.
Brandolph declined to say if the agency believes the ransomware attack is connected to hacking efforts elsewhere. He said Pittsburgh Regional Transit is working with law enforcement but declined to name any of the involved agencies.
“At this point, it is all still under investigation,” Brandolph told TribLive. “We, as an agency, want to be as upfront about this as we can. At this point, early on, we’re still in the throes of it and can’t divulge all of the details.”
An FBI spokesman in Pittsburgh declined comment Monday.
Private health care firm Ascension last Thursday reported a ransomware attack and data breach that appeared to affect nearly 5.6 million customers since May.
The data might have included medical, payment and insurance information in the 142-hospital system, as well as government identification such as Social Security numbers, the company said on its website.
On Dec. 16, the FBI issued a warning to private companies about computer threats that could attempt to take over certain devices, such as “Chinese-branded web cameras,” from a distance.
Brandolph said agency officials expect to update the public on the investigation but he declined to provide a timeline.