St. Louis Police Department computer hacked in cyber attack

KSDK -- A cyber attack targeting computers in the St. Louis Police Department compromised the personal information of two dozen people.

Cybercrimes investigators said it appears only one department computer was compromised, although others were targeted.

Personal information belonging to people involved in various crimes was stored on the computer that was compromised. 22 of them were people affected by crimes, such as victims or witnesses.  Two are suspects.  All 24 were involved in incidents in 2002, 2003 or 2005. The department said all of them have been contacted so they can take steps to prevent fraud.  Their names, addresses and social security numbers were possibly taken.

The department is also purchasing each of the 24 people, if interested, one year of credit protection services from Experian at a cost of $119.40 per person--a total cost of $2865.60.

The department said it learned of the attack this week although it is believed the attack actually occurred between February 4, 2010 and February 5, 2010.

Investigators determined the attack was initiated via email.

The department said it is unaware of any fraudulent activity that may have occurred as a result of this incident, and investigators are actively working to locate the 24 people whose
information may have been compromised.

In addition to receiving credit monitoring services, they will also receive a letter advising them of additional measures they can take to protect their credit.

The cyber attack may also have impacted personal information of some department employees including names and phone numbers, though employee social security numbers
were not compromised. The cyber attack did not affect the department's police report writing program, financial programs or the program that stores mug shots and criminal records.

The department said it is evaluating internal systems to determine if additional measures can be taken to prevent such an attack in the future.