A ransomware attack on Bay-area Patelco Credit Union has disrupted banking services for nearly half a million members, and the outage could persist for weeks.
The credit union announced the attack on June 29 via Twitter. The affected services include online banking, the mobile app, direct deposits, transfers, debit and credit card transactions, Zelle, balance inquiries, online bill payments, and monthly statements, among others.
Patelco Credit Union, based in Dublin, California, serves the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California. In addition to consumer banking, it offers mortgage origination, home equity lines of credit, and mortgage refinancing.
Patelco CEO Erin Mendez issued a statement on Wednesday confirming that cybersecurity specialists have validated the "core systems" and assured members that their money is "safe and secure." However, she mentioned that full system functionality is not expected to be restored over the weekend.
"I know this continues to cause our members frustration and many of you have questions," she said, promising that any fees incurred due to the shutdown will be waived. "We hear your concerns and are working around the clock to address them. Our team is committed to doing everything we can to support our members through this difficult situation."
The Mercury News reported that hackers infiltrated the bank’s internal databases via a phishing email, encrypting its contents and locking the bank out of its systems.
Operating as a nonprofit cooperative, Patelco holds $9 billion in assets. Despite providing daily updates since the attack, there is no clear timeline for when systems will be fully restored, and further outages are possible.
Services that remain operational include check and cash deposits, ATM withdrawals, ACH transfers, ACH for bill payments, and in-branch loan payments.
