Thousands Of Hoboken Social Security Numbers Stolen In Cyberattack: Report

HOBOKEN, NJ — After the city of Hoboken's digital operations were hacked the day before Thanksgiving, news outlets reported on Thursday that a "ransomware gang" called 3AM has taken responsibility for the attack. READ MORE: City Of Hoboken Hacked With Ransomware

NJ.com also reported Thursday that the group was based in Russia, and that it managed to obtain thousands of Social Security numbers and health details from Hoboken City Hall, including from people who applied for COVID-19 rental assistance.

The city's spokesperson and public safety spokesperson declined to respond to questions from Patch to follow up on those media reports. But the city issued this message shortly after 5:30 p.m. Friday:

"As we informed you earlier, the City of Hoboken was the victim of a ransomware incident that occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, Nov.
27, 2024. We want to assure the community that the incident was detected by the City's cybersecurity systems and steps were immediately taken to contain it and secure the network. This included temporarily shutting down the City's IT network and systematically bringing it back online, as guided by IT experts, with minimal disruption to City services.

"The City of Hoboken is currently working with cybersecurity specialists and federal law enforcement to determine the source, scope, and nature of the attack. The City has continued to take this incident seriously and is working to further minimize its impact. We are committed to keeping the community informed and will release more information as it is confirmed and available. If the City determines that personal identification information has been compromised, the City will make every effort to notify potentially impacted individuals. The City remains fully committed to minimizing any impact to the community and services."

Earlier Reporting

The website for Recorded Future, a cybersecurity firm, quoted their ransomware expert as saying that "the gang is likely tied to the Conti family of ransomware gangs. Conti was one of the most prominent cybercriminal operations but shuttered after drawing global infamy for the near total shutdown of the Costa Rican government in 2022."

Recorded Future pointed to this Tweet from yesterday from another cybersecurity firm:

According to the FBI, ransomware is a type of software that prevents entities from accessing computer files, demanding a ransom for their return. "Ransomware attacks can cause costly disruptions to operations and the loss of critical information and data," the FBI notes.

In the Recorded Future article, Liska said, "They have hit some big targets like Brunswick Hospital Center. In the last year and three months it has listed about 50 victims on its extortion site.”

Hoboken's city spokesperson and public safety spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about the reports.

City Update

Hoboken gave new updates on the attack on Wednesday and Thursday.

They said Wednesday that some digital city services had returned.

The city said in a message, "The city of Hoboken continues to make progress recovering from last week’s cyber attack. The city is actively working with the Hoboken Police Department, federal law enforcement agencies, and IT specialists to thoroughly investigate the cause and extent of the incident."

They said that the Hoboken Parking Utility service window has resumed accepting credit card payments, and most city staff and departments can now be contacted via email. Response times may be delayed.

For now, the Office of Vital Statistics and Licensing can be reached by phone only at (201) 420-2040.

The city thanked the community for understanding "as we navigate this evolving situation and asks for continued patience as we work to restore all systems. Additional updates will be shared as they become available."

On Thursday, the city advised residents to monitor their personal data. "As always and due to an abundance of caution, individuals are encouraged to monitor and protect themselves from any unusual activity on any personal accounts," the city said.

Here are phone numbers for city departments, for future reference.

• To contact the City Clerk’s Office, please call (201) 420-2000 ext. 2000
• To contact the Office of Constituent Services, please call (201) 420-2000 ex.1311
• To contact the Hoboken Parking Utility, please call (201) 653-1919 x8001
• To contact the Division of Housing, please call (201) 420-2000 x 5203
• To contact the Division of Health, please call (201) 420-2375
• To contact the Division of Sanitation, please call (201) 420-2000 x4000
• To contact the Division of Engineering or Water Utility, please call (201) 420-2000 x8028
• To contact the Zoning Office, please call (201) 420-2000 x 3100
• To contact the Division of Recreation, please call (201) 420-2000 Ext. 5002
• To contact the Office of Senior Services, please call (201) 420-2054
• For other City departments, visit the city's website at hobokennj.gov for phone numbers or call the general city information line at (201) 420-2000.