(TNS) — Hackers who have taken control of the Tarrant Appraisal District’s website say they have the Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers of 300 people, the agency said.
“It has been determined that there was unauthorized access to our network, which has resulted in the potential exposure of a small amount of personal information,” a statement from TAD said.
The statement also said TAD will notify those affected “as soon as possible.”
The ransomware attack took place March 21 by the hacking group Medusa.
On March 25, the district’s legal council announced at an emergency meeting that the hackers were asking for $700,000. The district has not paid the ransom.
The district said it expects to send value notices this and that property owners will be able protest them online.
Medusa has previously used extortion and the threat of selling sensitive information on the dark web as a tactic to negotiate, according to the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.
The appraisal district’s chief appraiser, Joe Don Bobbitt told the Star-Telegram last week that a majority of the data the district keeps on file is “sales data” and property details such as square footage, tax deeds or the year a property was sold — almost all of it public information.
In the statement put out Wednesday, TAD offered information on how to freeze a credit card or report fraud.
Many function’s of the appraisal district’s website are still offline.
The district sets property appraisals and administers exemptions for tax purposes.
©2024 Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
