Newburgh Security Incident Update

NEWBURGH – City Of Newburgh statement on conclusion of network security incident response:

On June 10, the City of Newburgh detected and stopped a cybersecurity attack in which an unauthorized third party accessed some of our network systems. Upon detection, the City of Newburgh immediately took steps to secure its network and launched an investigation with the assistance of independent cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and extent of the attack.

The City had implemented several measures to protect itself and our residents should such an attack ever occur. Thanks to those measures put in place by the City, we can confirm that the independent investigation of this cyber security attack did not reveal any evidence that sensitive personal information for citizens or employees was impacted by this incident. Further, there was no disruption to public safety services, and those public services and administrative functions that were minimally impacted were restored ahead of schedule.
Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies were notified of this incident and a criminal investigation is ongoing.

City Manager Todd Venning: “With the partnership of the City Council, my administration implemented several measures to prepare for and respond to cybersecurity attacks and other network security incidents. These preparations allowed the City to quickly respond to and investigate this attack, and I am pleased to confirm that we have not discovered any evidence that sensitive personal information for our residents or employees was impacted in this incident.”

The City has prepared a brief FAQ document for questions that residents may have regarding this incident.

Frequently Asked Questions
1. What Happened? When Did the City become aware of this incident?
On the morning of June 10, 2024, the City of Newburgh detected and stopped a cybersecurity attack in which an unauthorized third party accessed some of our systems. Upon detection, City of Newburgh immediately took steps to secure its network and launched an investigation with the assistance of independent cybersecurity experts to determine what happened and the extent of any unauthorized activity.

2. Was any of my information affected?
The investigation did not reveal any evidence that sensitive personal information for either employees or citizens was impacted in this incident.

3. Has law enforcement been notified?
Yes, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were notified of this incident.

4. Are attackers still present in the City’s system?
No. Immediately upon discovering the incident, we took steps to secure our systems. These actions included retaining third party cybersecurity experts to restore our network in a secure environment. There have been no signs of persistence or continued malicious activity. The City’s network is secure.

5. What is the City doing to make sure this does not ever happen again?
We are reviewing all of our current security protocols and adding additional security measures as needed to prevent this from happening again.