COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Hours after Mayor Andrew Ginther assured Columbus citizens that data stolen from the city was encrypted or corrupted, NBC4 was shown just the “tip of the iceberg” of what had been taken, and it painted a drastically different picture.
Among the things laid bare were the names of domestic violence victims, and Social Security numbers for police officers and crime victims alike. The dump not only impacts city employees, but also revealed personal information for residents and visitors going back years. Anyone who visited Columbus City Hall within the past two decades may be affected.
While NBC4 has previously viewed the play-by-play of Rhysida’s auctions and subsequent leak on the dark web, cybersecurity expert Connor Goodwolf shared a first-ever glimpse into the downloaded contents Tuesday afternoon. He noted this was only a sample of the data totaling 3.1 terabytes, but he was already able to find server records from City Attorney Zach Klein’s office, as well as the ID scanning system used to enter Columbus City Hall.