For over 500,000 frightened Patelco Credit Union customers who were unable to access their account balances following a ransomware attack on the bank on June 29 last 12 months, the long wait is sort of over.
Over the weekend, the Bay Area-based bank and certainly one of the nation's largest credit unions announced that its customers will finally have access to their mobile and online banking starting Monday, July 15.
“On Monday, July 15, you will have access to online banking and the Patelco Mobile App. Our branches and contact center will also be able to answer your inquiries,” said Erin Mendez, President and CEO of Patelco. “We have restored most features and the services our members use most frequently. We recognize there is still progress to be made before we can fully restore, and while it may not be perfect, we are grateful to be able to help you bank again.”
A ransomware attack is a kind of malware attack wherein hackers encrypt or lock sensitive data and the attacker demands payment or something else in exchange for releasing the info.
The latest services restored include online and mobile banking, account balance inquiries, transaction histories, Zelle and online bill pay.
Electronic funds transfer, payment default and certificate account services can be found online through branches or call center transactions.
Still unavailable include electronic statements, opening recent accounts, recent loans, balance transfers and bank card balance transfers.
The cyberattack left 1000’s of consumers of the trusted credit union unsettled, bombarding Patelco's social media pages demanding answers while little information was available from each day about when their services can be fully restored and the way much of their personal information had been compromised.
Anjani Byrd was certainly one of the bank customers who paid off her debts without knowing exactly how much money was left in her account, so the news of services being restored couldn't come soon enough.
It continues to be unclear whether private customer data was stolen or compromised within the ransomware attack and the way much of the corporate's greater than $9 billion in assets was affected by the attack. At least one dissatisfied customer has already filed a lawsuit against the bank for allegedly failing to adequately protect customer data.
“I would say when it first happened, I pretty much downplayed it because I thought it was normal maintenance,” Byrd said. “It seemed totally normal. And then a day went by and it became concerning.”
Byrd said he put an app development project on hold on account of the bank's poor handling of the info breach.
“The fact that I couldn't see my account balance left us in the dark because I'm not able to pay my developer the amount he needs to complete my app,” he said.
Patelco is Byrd's most important checking account for many transactions, including paying his automotive loan, bills, school fees and other obligations.
Byrd said he’s now considering transferring all of his money to his other secondary account, which he maintains at Navy Federal Credit Union.
“I have another bill that's due, but I've been hesitant to pay it because I'm a little bit scared. I don't know what my accounts look like right now,” Byrd said. “I'm just blindly paying (bills) without being able to keep track of my finances and just hoping that everything works out. It's kind of uncertain and scary to live like that for a week.”
Since the attack, Patelco has promised to waive late payment and overdraft fees for patrons with credit accounts and to compensate those charged late payment fees by other institutions on account of payment processing issues. The bank has also pledged to put in writing letters to credit bureaus on behalf of consumers to correct any negative or derogatory comments.
For clients like Byrd, nonetheless, these measures were still not enough to handle their concerns.
“It's kind of disheartening and a relationship is ruined. As a student, you're not rich or anything… If the main bank goes bust, you're totally broke,” Byrd said. “I'm just hoping for the best that we can get our money as quickly as possible. But it's really devastating. Nobody really plans for something like this, especially college students. And you really have no way of having a second plan.”
For more information and updates on Patelco’s vulnerability and available services, please visit Visit their website.
Originally published:
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