The City of St. Cloud has begun notifying individuals whose personal information may have been compromised during a cyberattack earlier this year. Letters were mailed this week to potentially affected individuals after a detailed review of the March 2024 incident.

“The city takes this event and information security very seriously,” said City Manager Veronica Miller. “When we became aware of the activity, we moved quickly to mitigate the impacts, and to investigate. We are continuing to strengthen our policies and procedures and implementing safeguards to further enhance the security of our data. Cyber incidents such as these are unfortunately a part of the digital world in which we live, and we are taking all the steps necessary to protect our systems from similar incidents in the future.”

The breach was first detected in March when city officials noticed suspicious activity within its computer network. With the help of third-party cybersecurity experts, the city launched an investigation, which determined that unauthorized individuals accessed certain systems between March 17 and March 25.

A subsequent analysis revealed that the compromised data varied by individual and could include sensitive information such as names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license or passport numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, military IDs, financial account details, medical records, and online login credentials.

City officials say they worked diligently to identify the individuals impacted and are now mailing notification letters to those for whom contact information was available. They have also updated the city’s website with additional information and alerted the appropriate regulatory agencies.

Residents with questions can contact a dedicated toll-free assistance line at 1-800-939-4170, available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST, excluding holidays. Written inquiries can be sent to the City Clerk’s Office at 1300 9th Street, St. Cloud, FL 34769.

As a precaution, the city is urging residents to monitor their financial and medical accounts for any signs of unusual activity. Additional tips and resources for protecting personal information are available on the city’s website at www.stcloudfl.gov under the “Cyber Incident Notice” section on the homepage.