North Carolina city compromised in pre-Thanksgiving cyberattack

Officials at the City of Hendersonville in North Carolina have disclosed that data from its government employees may have been compromised following a cyberattack that occurred just before the Thanksgiving holiday, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. "Based on our preliminary investigation, we have determined that the unauthorized party likely accessed the system and gained access to certain employee data for individuals hired before January 1, 2021. We believe the impact did not extend to other systems or customer data," said Hendersonville City Manager John Connet, who added that the city has already been working with the state's Joint Cybersecurity Task Force, as well as third-party cybersecurity experts, in investigating the intrusion. Such an attack follows separate ransomware attacks against a Charlotte suburb in July and the Raleigh Housing Authority in May and comes after North Carolina became the first state to prohibit ransom payments.