Cyberattack in St. Joseph, Mo., may have exposed resident data

A cyberattack last June against St. Joseph, Missouri, disrupted most city computer systems and may have exposed personal data from police and health department files, according to News-Press Now, which obtained government documents through public records requests.

The incident forced city staff to rely on emergency measures, such as Wi-Fi hotspots and manual processes, to keep essential services running. It also prompted the city to spend more than $1 million on upgrades to its cybersecurity infrastructure.

News-Press Now reported there’s no evidence that city information had been misused. Officials of St. Joseph, a city of 72,000 residents north of Kansas City, are planning to notify roughly 11,000 residents of the potential breach and offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.

“The City takes its responsibility to safeguard personal information seriously and regrets any concern this incident may have caused,” officials posted to the city website on Monday. “As part of the City’s ongoing commitment to the security of information, the City has reviewed and enhanced its data security policies and procedures related to IT infrastructure, data privacy and data security in order to help reduce the likelihood of a similar event in the future.”