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500,000 Bay Area Families Have Their Family Finances Held Hostage By A Ransomeware Attack


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2024 Jul 4, 6:02am   276 views  15 comments

by ohomen171   ➕follow (2)   💰tip   ignore  

#patelcocredit union There is a huge local problem here in the San Francisco Bay Area right now that has relevance all over the world. Patelco is a credit union that serves over 500,000 customers throughout the Bay Area. Some cybercriminals have taken control of the computer system for the credit union. They are demanding an undisclosed ransom (Probably millions of dollars) to release control of the computer system.
If you do your banking with this credit union, you have huge problems. You cannot look at your deposit accounts and credit card accounts. If you go to purchase with your debit card, it will not work. Checks written to pay bills will not be cleared properly, if at all. We all have critical bills like electricity bills, water bills, etc. that must be paid or there will be cut-offs of electricity, natural gas, and water. Most of us have credit card bills, auto loans, consumer loans, etc. If these are not paid on time, one's credit rating will suffer. One's car loans could go into default. One's home loan could default. Repossession of cars and houses could follow. This is one of a person's worst nightmares.
The first question that we need to ask is "What went wrong at Patelco Credit Union?" In simple terms, an employee was not being alert and attentive. They clicked on what looked like an innocent link. The criminals were let into the bank's computer. As a matter of interest, from time to time I get a text message that appears to come from the U.S. Postal Service. It claims that a package is awaiting my pickup. I am directed to click on a link. I do not fall for this one. Elena gets questionable links from time to time. She always comes to me and asks me if it is bonafide. Sometimes these criminals use more sophisticated methods than links to break into a computer system. I will leave those to the cybersecurity experts.
The second question is how do you as a person or family protect yourself from a disaster like this? A simple pearl of wisdom from long ago applies here: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Have a backup financial institution and a high-limit credit card not tied to any bank. Also learn a lesson that I have learned from many dear Asian friends. Keep cash in the house.
The third question is what does Patelco Credit Union due to solve this crisis? Let us hope that they were smart enough to buy insurance against such a cyber-attack. Law enforcement agencies criticize insurers who quickly pay the criminals. It incentivizes others to launch these attacks. I hope that Patelco had a cyber-attack contingency plan. In my mind, an organization should resist paying this ransom. Sometimes a large investment must be made to rebuild a compromised computer system and make it more secure. Several other major credit unions in the Bay Area could step up and provide these 500,000 depositors with services while the computer system is being rebuilt.

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1   DemocratsAreTotallyFucked   2024 Jul 4, 6:17am  

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Nulla bibendum egestas mauris, et tristique arcu dapibus non. Nunc ut molestie dui, id sagittis tellus. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Donec ut sagittis magna, quis fringilla tellus. Donec nec sapien eget ex tempor porta. Vestibulum facilisis congue fermentum. Aliquam erat volutpat. Proin ac sodales leo. Mauris efficitur lacinia sem. Nunc sit amet dolor iaculis orci vehicula egestas eget id ex. Sed at magna luctus, interdum lorem eu, lacinia nisi. Mauris laoreet ultricies ante sit amet ullamcorper. Sed scelerisque, lorem auctor ornare ultrices, sem sem ullamcorper orci, eu rhoncus leo libero quis velit. Aliquam purus nibh, gravida a.
2   Booger   2024 Jul 4, 6:46am  

Patelco? I bet their IT was outsourced to India.
3   Onvacation   2024 Jul 4, 7:25am  

Patelco kind of sucks. I have been a member for over 20 years. Still beats Wells Fargo or BofA.
4   GNL   2024 Jul 4, 9:30am  

I just moved all of mine, my wife’s and our business accounts to Navy Federal.
5   PatrickPioneer   2024 Jul 4, 10:41am  

This is a significant and deeply concerning situation for everyone affected by the ransomware attack on Patelco Credit Union. It's a stark reminder of how vulnerable our digital systems can be. I completely agree that diversifying financial institutions and keeping some cash at home are prudent steps. It’s crucial for organizations to not only have strong cybersecurity measures but also a robust contingency plan to manage such crises. My thoughts go out to all the families facing disruptions and uncertainties. Let's hope Patelco can swiftly resolve this and restore their services.
6   WookieMan   2024 Jul 4, 11:33am  

Paragraph break............. no one reads your shit if they literally cannot read it. It's unreadable. I read one line and just say fuck this. Also respond to comments. You have in the past. What is the point of posting this shit here? Are you trying to keyword spam to get links back to your site? I don't get it.
7   Ceffer   2024 Jul 4, 11:42am  

Inside Job. I guess it's better than hiring the Rockefellers or Rothschilds to murder the account holders.
"Your money, or your life".

There is no bolus of money or value that you consign 'in trust' to third parties that is not immediately conspired against by psychopaths, political and otherwise, to steal it by degrees or wholesale. Why do you think all the dynastics keep treasure tunnels.
8   AmericanKulak   2024 Jul 4, 12:01pm  

Banks hate Credit Unions.
9   WookieMan   2024 Jul 4, 3:02pm  

AmericanKulak says

Banks hate Credit Unions.

Toyota hates Nissan. That's business. I think they're one in the same, but for some reason people are led to believe credit unions are better. Everyone gets their cut on the back end. I don't promote it, but this is why we have crypto. Think Office Space the movie. You can take pennies and make a ton of money if the revenue is there. Banks take a nickel or a dime. Credit unions take 2¢. They're still taking from you with what you earned.
11   komputodo   2024 Jul 4, 10:10pm  

TEN POUND BASS with his programming skills could have that system up and running in an hour. Just get someone to hold his beer.
12   DemocratsAreTotallyFucked   2024 Jul 5, 12:10am  

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam rhoncus pulvinar metus. Sed finibus ante consequat consectetur viverra. Fusce sodales vel massa at cursus. Ut at arcu dapibus, volutpat dolor a, sollicitudin mi. Aliquam erat volutpat. Duis volutpat quam non posuere bibendum. Praesent sem orci, sodales quis luctus sed, volutpat quis felis.
Phasellus convallis eros eros, vel fringilla leo facilisis id. Pellentesque turpis turpis, pulvinar non mollis eu, aliquam at enim. Fusce ullamcorper sagittis turpis, nec blandit diam feugiat fringilla. Ut tempus mauris justo, ut auctor libero molestie vitae. Cras ultrices cursus quam, id semper lectus maximus in. Ut scelerisque volutpat elit, nec auctor purus pulvinar eget. Pellentesque massa diam, dapibus et felis sed, dictum aliquet justo. Aliquam ut nulla tortor.
Proin tincidunt dui et lectus consequat, luctus tempus turpis vehicula. Phasellus et dolor a quam cursus interdum eu eget diam. Nullam pulvinar, massa tempus mattis vestibulum, dolor lacus mattis arcu, ut auctor nulla odio ornare purus. Donec tempor metus vel ligula dictum convallis. Etiam porttitor lectus a sem blandit dapibus. Nullam id vestibulum sem. Sed vel rhoncus neque. Nullam ipsum erat, malesuada vitae feugiat non, ultrices non turpis. Phasellus semper mi velit, quis volutpat magna ultrices at. Pellentesque at congue dui. Sed orci est, ultricies sed pharetra ut, mattis id ligula.
Nullam id orci eu sem luctus vehicula. Mauris nulla diam, blandit eu odio a, fringilla faucibus lacus. Maecenas justo nulla, dignissim vitae tempor nec, gravida sed sem. Nulla pellentesque sodales felis non malesuada. Donec vulputate id elit in mollis. Quisque mattis risus aliquam venenatis efficitur. Etiam a nibh erat. Donec pretium lorem in mauris lacinia bibendum. Nullam malesuada est in odio gravida, vel cursus lacus vehicula. Sed lacinia aliquam nulla vel eleifend. Duis lacus turpis, ultrices semper dui sit amet, sollicitudin sollicitudin urna.
Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec feugiat maximus gravida. Proin sit amet tincidunt sem. Vivamus in elit vitae justo tristique pulvinar. Nulla congue gravida nisi, sed euismod velit pharetra quis. Sed volutpat, ipsum sed volutpat posuere, nisl diam viverra elit, nec ornare enim sem quis orci. Integer varius interdum nisl, non sagittis felis ornare sed. Maecenas eget mauris eleifend, luctus lorem nec, malesuada est. Phasellus condimentum pulvinar neque et mattis. Quisque in dolor a lectus congue consequat. Cras tristique sem id quam laoreet, nec tincidunt orci eleifend. Suspendisse ut mauris odio.
Nulla bibendum egestas mauris, et tristique arcu dapibus non. Nunc ut molestie dui, id sagittis tellus. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Donec ut sagittis magna, quis fringilla tellus. Donec nec sapien eget ex tempor porta. Vestibulum facilisis congue fermentum. Aliquam erat volutpat. Proin ac sodales leo. Mauris efficitur lacinia sem. Nunc sit amet dolor iaculis orci vehicula egestas eget id ex. Sed at magna luctus, interdum lorem eu, lacinia nisi. Mauris laoreet ultricies ante sit amet ullamcorper. Sed scelerisque, lorem auctor ornare ultrices, sem sem ullamcorper orci, eu rhoncus leo libero quis velit. Aliquam purus nibh, gravida ap.
13   stereotomy   2024 Jul 5, 8:31am  

Follow the investigation procedures outlined in Regulation E to the letter . 'Nuff said. I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that Elena hadn't suggested this to the Credit Union.
14   Onvacation   2024 Jul 6, 3:09pm  

Just got an email from Patelco


Dear XXXXXXX,

Today, we want to remind you to stay vigilant and alert to potential fraudster activity. Unfortunately, scammers (unrelated to the cyber attackers) may also try to take advantage of this situation and pretend to be from Patelco in order to access your information or funds. Please read on for important guidance and best practices to help protect your information.

5 things we'll never call (or text) and ask for:
your card PIN

your online banking password

the CVV (3 digits) on the back of your card

your full account (MICR) number

personal information, like how long you’ve been a Patelco member

We have an experienced fraud team that can assist you
If you have concerns that a phone call, email or text you receive is fraudulent, or a feeling that something just doesn’t sound right, please call us directly at 800.358.8228 x 5323 to talk with a fraud specialist (weekdays 8am-6:30pm and Saturdays 9am-2pm PT).

Tips to help you stay safe
1. Rely on our official channels only

our website at patelco.org, especially patelco.org/SecurityUpdate

emails from no-reply@patelco.org and no-reply@email.patelco.org

our official social media channels, including X/Twitter and Facebook, which you can find links for at the bottom of our official website

Don’t take direction or get information anywhere else. And remember, our dedicated Security Incident & Information Center at patelco.org/SecurityUpdate is regularly updated with the latest information.

2. Don’t send or move money to “protect it”
Fraudsters frequently pose as banks and credit unions and ask you to send them money – such as crypto, wire transfers, gift cards or money orders – so they can open a new account and “protect” your money.

This is always a scam – don’t respond to any requests to move money.

3. Don’t give out your online banking or card details
We will never ask you for private information like your online banking User ID and password, your card number / CVV / PIN, or other private account information.

If someone asks you for this, they are a scammer. Refer back to our blog post on this topic for more information.

4. Beware of offers for loans or special relief
Scammers will often use a difficult event – whether it’s a natural disaster or a cyberattack and then offer loans or special "help” — which will require you to give up your personal information. We won’t reach out to you and ask for this.

We will continue to post updates on the cybersecurity incident through our dedicated Security Incident & Information Center at patelco.org/SecurityUpdate. Please continue to visit this web page for the latest on our current operations.

Sincerely,

Erin Mendez

President & CEO

Patelco Credit Union
15   Tenpoundbass   2024 Jul 6, 3:21pm  

komputodo says


TEN POUND BASS with his programming skills could have that system up and running in an hour. Just get someone to hold his beer.


I could solve ransom wear issues very easily.
With Parallel Servers. My version of it, would have two OS on the same machine. Data is written to both simultaneously. The second server is not on the network and can't be seen even by the OS that is driving the server. The only way to access the other OS is by a separate hardware IO. The second OS would be write only. So any updates to the existing data, would be stored as batch scripts or written to audit table. Which would be sorted out in the emergency if/when ever needed. Sure it would be a lot of work to sort those scripts, and data entries out to verify that they weren't malicious as well.
The primary OS has no idea the secondary OS even exists, every write is done in real-time, not in batches. Also the second OS does not reside on the same disk as a separate partition. The baddies have no idea the OS exists. The only way to access it would be to plug a keyboard and monitor into the secondary OS ports in the back. There would not be any WSH commands to alter it or access it period.

The secondary OS does not execute anything without hardware input, and even then there is an audit screen second step to verify any executable.
Which Windows OS should have anyway. You should have to go to an administrator tool to verify and give permission to run for anything install on Windows.
It should have been that way for the last 25 years. But here we still are where some crummy Russian or Indian two oceans away are executing and installing shit on our Servers and Computers, and I garuanfuckintee ya, that Microsoft is licensing them the exploits to use. In the same way Bill Gates is creating viruses to unleash on humanity so he can sell the cure.

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