Cybersecurity Incident Report At California Finance Department

Ransomware is one of the most significant cybersecurity issues at all levels of government. The latest hack was reported Monday by the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) that a cybersecurity incident involved the California Department of Finance.

A statement published by Cal-CSIC described the threat as an “intrusion” that was “identified through coordination with state and federal security partners.”

“While we cannot comment on specifics of the ongoing investigation, we can share that no state funds have been compromised, and the Department of Finance is continuing its work to prepare the Governor’s Budget that will be released next month,” Cal-CSIC said. 

According to Bloomberg, the Russia-affiliated hacking group “LockBit” claimed on their blog that they swiped as much as 76GB of data, including IT, financial documents, confidential data, and “sexual proceedings in court.” 

Cybernews reported LockBit threatened to leak data if unspecified demands were not met by Christmas Eve. Cybersecurity experts say such demands usually involve cryptocurrency. 

Governor Gavin Newsom must unveil his budget for the next fiscal year by Jan. 10. Bloomberg added as of Monday afternoon, “the state’s website for past and current budgets remained inaccessible.”