The City of Richland confirms there has been a data breach incident affecting our servers and systems at Benton County Emergency Services (BCES) and the City of Richland (City). This breach has potentially compromised personal information of our citizens. The privacy and security of our citizens are of utmost importance to us, and we are taking immediate action to address this situation.
Here are the key details of the incident:
Nature of the Breach: Our cybersecurity systems detected unauthorized access to City of Richland servers via BCES servers on May 15, 2024. The breach appears to have mostly impacted City servers and may have exposed personal information, including but not limited to names, addresses, contact details, and possibly sensitive data.
Scope of Impact: While we are still investigating the full extent of the breach, the City has engaged a cyber security consultant to assist with a comprehensive assessment.
Actions Taken: Upon discovery of the breach, we immediately initiated our incident response protocol. BCES and City IT teams are working tirelessly to contain the breach, assess the damage, and strengthen our security measures to prevent future incidents. We have also notified relevant authorities and are cooperating fully with their investigations.
Next Steps: While still investigating, we intend to share more details early next week as we identify the full impact. We will share ways citizens can take proactive measures as well as provide support resources and ongoing daily updates via social media and the website. In addition, next week we will distribute a letter to all City of Richland customer accounts identified in our customer database.
We apologize for the inconvenience and commit to remain fully transparent as the investigation evolves.