DUBLIN – Half 1,000,000 people still had no access to their accounts at Patelco Credit Union on Monday after a security breach on Saturday brought banking operations to a halt with no solution in sight.
On Saturday, Erin Mendez, president and CEO of Patelco, sent a system-wide email informing customers that a “major security breach” required us to “shut down some of our day-to-day banking systems so we can troubleshoot the issue and contain the impact, including our online banking, mobile app and call center.”
“We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and frustration this incident has caused. Our branches, call center and chat will be as ready to assist you as possible during regular business hours on July 1,” the Dublin-based credit union's website said on Monday. “We will answer your questions as best we can, but are unable to provide you with specific account details at this time.”
The credit union's members, estimated at 500,000, were concurrently locked out of their online accounts, unable to ascertain their balances, send or receive money, or change their passwords.
Patelco stated on its social media pages that customers could use “over 30,000 shared ATMs across the U.S.” for money withdrawals and deposits, but residents were unhappy with the limited access to their money.
“It shouldn't have taken your team 36 hours to respond with an official statement. And besides, no mention of the security of our assets? Ridiculous,” Michele Milz posted on X.
Patelco responded that the corporate's CEO “sent an email with an update to all members. While we may not have all the answers now, your safety and peace of mind is our top priority. Please stay tuned for further updates via social media.”
Julie Brusca, a San Jose resident, said she noticed around 7 a.m. Saturday morning that she not had access to her Patelco checking account. She continued trying to ascertain her account balances but found nothing. On Sunday, she went to a neighborhood Patelco ATM but again couldn’t access her accounts. Then, at 1:53 p.m., the company-wide notification got here from the bank's CEO, she said.
“They were unbearably vague about what it was about,” Brusca said in an interview with this newspaper.
Patelco didn’t provide any further information in regards to the severity or causes of the breach as of early Monday afternoon. The credit union's press office didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment Monday, nor did Mendez.
Later Monday afternoon, an updated statement from the press office got here out confirming that the breach was a “ransomware attack.”
The statement also said the bank had “engaged a leading third-party cybersecurity forensic firm to assist us with the investigation and recovery as quickly as possible” and that it was working “around the clock” on the difficulty.
“Is my money safe?” asks Brusca, a member since 1995. “If you pay your rent or something like that by direct debit, you’re out of luck.”
She added: “If they don't get this sorted by the end of the week, their reputation will go down the drain because you can't just deny people access to their money for a whole week.”
Patelco, the Bay Area's third-largest credit union, has multiple branches throughout the South Bay, including in San Jose, Campbell, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Milpitas. Additional locations include Fremont, Redwood City, Hayward, Castro Valley, San Leandro, San Mateo, Dublin, Livermore, San Bruno, Oakland, Berkeley, San Ramon and Danville.
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