Tag Archive for: Transit

Hacker Claims to Have Published St. Louis Transit Data

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(TNS) — An anonymous hacker group says it has published data it stole from a regional transportation agency here.

It was not immediately clear what data was published or whether it included sensitive personal information. The hackers earlier this week demanded a ransom be paid or they would release stolen information from the regional transportation system Metro Transit, including passports, Social Security numbers and tax information.

Taulby Roach, the CEO and president of Bi-State Development, which operates Metro Transit, said Thursday the agency did not pay the ransom but did not release more details about the demand.


A union that represents many of Metro Transit’s 1,800 employees said no employees have reported instances of identity theft or other malicious activity stemming from the hack.

Roach said no customer data was stolen, and any impacted employees will be notified.

Employees were told of the data breach earlier this week and offered free credit monitoring through TransUnion, a credit reporting agency.

“We are unaware of any instances where sensitive employee information has been used maliciously,” Roach said in a statement. “However, we encouraged employees to register as soon as possible for the free credit monitoring services and heightened vigilance by our employees for suspicious links or suspicious credit activity.

Brett Callow, an analyst with the New Zealand-based cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, shared a screenshot with the Post-Dispatch that showed files containing what the hackers claimed late Wednesday was stolen Metro data.

Callow said it’s impossible to know exactly what’s in the files without downloading and viewing them, which he said he wouldn’t do because he sees it as an invasion of privacy.

The screenshot was published on an unregulated part of the Internet called the dark web, which hackers often use to publish ransom threats and cybersecurity researchers track to study ransomware activity.

It appeared to show the publication of 10 files, each 500 megabytes, and a tracker noting the download link had been viewed more than 700 times.

The cyber attack began on Oct. 2, and phone and computer…

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Hackers say they’ve published data stolen from St. Louis’ Metro Transit

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ST. LOUIS — An anonymous hacker group says it has published data it stole from a regional transportation agency here.

It was not immediately clear what data was published or whether it included sensitive personal information. The hackers earlier this week demanded a ransom be paid or they would release stolen information from the regional transportation system Metro Transit, including passports, Social Security numbers and tax information.

Taulby Roach, the CEO and president of Bi-State Development, which operates Metro Transit, said Thursday the agency did not pay the ransom but did not release more details about the demand.

A union that represents many of Metro Transit’s 1,800 employees said no employees have reported instances of identity theft or other malicious activity stemming from the hack.

Roach said no customer data was stolen, and any impacted employees will be notified.

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Employees were told of the data breach earlier this week and offered free credit monitoring through TransUnion, a credit reporting agency.

“We are unaware of any instances where sensitive employee information has been used maliciously,” Roach said in a statement. “However, we encouraged employees to register as soon as possible for the free credit monitoring services and heightened vigilance by our employees for suspicious links or suspicious credit activity.

Brett Callow, an analyst with the New Zealand-based cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, shared a screenshot with the Post-Dispatch that showed files containing what the hackers claimed late Wednesday was stolen Metro data.

Callow said it’s impossible to know exactly what’s in the files without downloading and viewing them, which he said he wouldn’t do because he sees it as an invasion of privacy.

The screenshot was published on an unregulated part of the internet called the dark web, which hackers often use to publish ransom threats and…

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Valley Regional Transit says ransomware put personal info at risk

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The agency in charge of public bus service in the Treasure Valley said it has begun notifying the more than 500 people who may be affected.

BOISE, Idaho — A ransomware attack against Valley Regional Transit in October may have compromised personal information of 535 of the transit agency’s employees, contractors and customers.

VRT, which operates public transit in Ada and Canyon counties, said Friday that upon learning of the attack, the agency immediately began working with cybersecurity experts to investigate and help VRT contain the threat and secure its systems. VRT also said it has begun notifying the people whose information may have been subject to unauthorized access.

VRT on Friday said the following about what the investigation revealed as well as the response:

  • Cybercriminals had accessed VRT’s computer network and removed some data before deploying the ransomware in October 2021.
  • The affected data may have included individuals’ names, addresses, birthdates, and Social Security or driver’s license numbers.
  • VRT is offering credit-monitoring services at no cost to people whose driver’s license or Social Security numbers were involved.
  • The breach did not interrupt payroll processes or transportation services.
  • VRT notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Transportation Security Administration of this incident and has been providing regular updates to Idaho regulators.

VRT said it did not have sufficient contact information to provide written notice to a small number of affected individuals. The agency is asking people with any questions, and wanting to determine if their information was involved in the breach, to call the following number: 208-258-2777. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. MT, Monday through Friday.

“We are committed to protecting the security of our systems as well as personal information about our employees, vendors and customers,” said Kelli Badesheim, Valley Regional Transit’s executive director. “VRT wants to make sure an…

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Honolulu Transit Putting Services Back Online After Hack

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(TNS) — Honolulu transportation officials continue to restore online services shut down by a ransomware attack—collaborating with other entities that have fallen victim on how to best fortify systems against the barrage of cyber assaults.

The city transportation services network intrusions and disruptions on Dec. 9 infiltrated online services for TheBus, TheHandi-Van, TheBus app and its HOLO card system.

City information technology officials speculate the attack was the work of hackers affiliated with Russia but acknowledge the investigation into the incident by the FBI, Honolulu police and U.S. Secret Service is ongoing. A warning not to interfere while the hackers infiltrated OTS systems was allegedly connected to a Russian email address.


Separately last week, an apparent ransomware attack infiltrated and shut down the time-keeping services for employees at the Board of Water Supply and Emergency Medical Services—part of a nationwide offensive on public and private networks that could take weeks to fix.

Over the past year, scheduling, real-time location services and operating systems for buses and para-transit services in five other municipal transportation entities have also come under attack.

“We don’t have any specific knowledge of targeted information, but are collaborating with other transit agencies and authorities who have experienced similar cyber attacks in the past year,” Travis Ota, spokesman for the city Department of Transportation Services, in a statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The city and OTS are working with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Santa Clara Valley (Calif.) Transportation Authority, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and Ann Arbor (Mich.) Area Transportation Authority to understand the system disruption.

The Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency determined that Chinese government cyber actors compromised New York’s MTA.

“The Transportation Systems Sector faces a multitude of cyber threats at the hands of criminals, hackers, insiders and nation-state actors,” according to an October presentation…

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