City of Pensacola Cyberattack Notifications
The City of Pensacola’s computer network suffered a cyberattack during the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 2019. The city took immediate steps to limit the damage sought to be caused by the hackers. In the days that followed, city personnel worked tirelessly to bring the city’s computer network back online and worked with outside consultants and law enforcement to analyze the breach and any data that was compromised.
The city cannot determine with certainty that personal information has not been compromised in the cyberattack. The personal information that may have been obtained by the hackers includes individuals’ first and last names; social security number, driver license number, or other identification number; bank account number, credit card number, or debit card number.
While there has not been any confirmation that this data was compromised, the City of Pensacola is choosing to make notifications to the public in an abundance of caution.
The city’s active customers, active vendors and employees/retirees should receive a letter in the mail with information from LifeLock about how to activate one year of LifeLock Defender™ Choice at no cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I received a letter in the mail about the cyberattack. Is this legitimate?
A: Yes. If you received a letter in the mail from the City of Pensacola with a return address in Suwanee, Georgia, it is legitimate. Please follow the instructions in the letter if you are interested in taking advantage of the free year of LifeLock.
Q: I received a letter and would like to take advantage of the free year of LifeLock Defender™. How can I do that?
A: Please follow the instructions in your letter to activate the free year of LifeLock Defender™. If you need assistance, call the phone number provided in the letter.
Q: I tried to activate my free year of LifeLock Defender™ using the access code in my letter, but it is not working. What should I do?
A: First, make sure you are typing in the access code correctly. If the code still will not work, please call LifeLock at the phone number provided in your letter.
Q: Was my financial and personal information compromised?
A: The city cannot determine with certainty that personal information has not been compromised in the cyberattack. The personal information that may have been obtained by the hackers includes individuals’ first and last names; social security number, driver license number, or other identification number; bank account number, credit card number, or debit card number. This is why the city is offering LifeLock services to affected individuals.
Q: How did the city obtain my data?
A: You are either a current customer of Pensacola Energy, an employee or retiree of the city (all who are stored in the current database), an active applicant or recipient of Section 8 Housing assistance and/or a vendor of the city who supplied a social security number rather than an federal tax ID number.
Q: What actions have been taken by the city in response to this incident?
A: Upon learning of the cyberattack, the city immediately contacted law enforcement including the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. The city is now offering LifeLock services to active customers of Pensacola Energy, active employees and retirees of the city, active and pending applicants for Section 8 housing and active vendors who supplied the city their SSN rather than an FEIN number.
Q: Has anyone experienced fraud or theft as a result of this incident?
A: The city is not aware of anyone’s information having been misused, but please refer to the letter you received for information about steps you can take to protect yourself. The city also recommends that you monitor your statements and accounts for unusual or suspicious activity.
Q: Why has it taken so long to notify me?
A: Once the city learned of this issue, we immediately took steps to investigate the incident and determine the nature of the incident and scope of the information that was potentially accessed. We also engaged LifeLock to provide credit monitoring and identity theft protection to impacted individuals, which took time.