Data Breach At Annapolis Parking Garages Could Put Thousands At Risk
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- A security breach at three parking garages in Annapolis could have put the credit card information of thousands of Maryland drivers at risk.
On June 11, the city was made aware that three garages in the downtown area were breached with malware installed in the system's server.
"The attorney general was the first person the city of Annapolis called, and we were like, 'We think there has been a data breach,'" said Rhonda Wardlaw, Annapolis spokesperson.
SP Plus, the city's comprehensive firm, took over managing the server on June 1, alerting the city of the problem within 10 days.
A scan and preliminary investigation shows that the breach took place from December 23, 2015 to June 11, 2016 -- nearly six months -- at the Noah Hill, Gott's Court and Knighton garages.
"No, not necessarily shocked. I mean, shocked about breaching your card? That happens every day," said Petra Pizzulli, visitor.
The breach affects drivers who used the daily parking option, not those who have monthly plans or residents.
"The garage servers are in no way associated with any transaction that a citizen made within city government. These are strictly associated with the garage," said Rick Gordon, Annapolis Director of Transportation.
Once the city found out about the problem, it switched all the payment options to cash only to prevent anyone else from having their card breached.
"So anyone who may have been compromised was eliminated from that point forward," said Wardlaw.
The preliminary investigation is ongoing, with SP Plus working to get a new server up and running by the Fourth of July.
"If they're not going to do it here, they'll do it somewhere else. It's not just a garage," said Pizzulli.
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