Cyber attack on Indianapolis Housing Agency leaks sensitive data of 200,000 residents

The Indianapolis Housing Agency (IHA), responsible for housing low-income tenants across Indianapolis, has disclosed that 212,910 residents had their sensitive information exposed following a ransomware attack in September last year.

The federally-funded agency said the leaked information included residents’ names, addresses, birthdates, and Social Security numbers. Meanwhile, a breach notification letter sent to the Maine Attorney General’s office detailed that IHA systems were infiltrated on September 23, with a ransomware attack that was only identified on October 4.

The attack disrupted the delivery of over 8,000 rent payments to landlords covered by the Section 8 federal Housing Choice Voucher Program. Agency staff members were locked out of email systems for days and forced to manually send out checks.

The agency said the victims are provided with 12 months of IDX identity protection services, including identity theft recovery services, and a $1,000,000 insurance reimbursement policy. Notably, about 25,000 people rely on the agency for various services, and it also runs several public housing buildings.