Patelco stabilizes network, ‘marching' toward recovery from cyberattack

A Bay Area-based credit union says it has stabilized its network after a ransomware attack and is processing transactions again.

The breach crippled Dublin-based Patelco Credit Union more than a week ago, disrupting services to its members such as simple account balance statements, mobile banking and cashing checks.

Patelco said in a statement late Sunday it is now processing transactions, and customers will soon be able to see their account balances, "but the restoration of our systems while ensuring their future security requires careful and methodical work."

Following the outage, a slew of lawsuits have come against Patelco alleging it failed to "properly secure and safeguard" members’ personal information from the ransomware attack.

One suit, which is aiming for class-action status, is looking for actual, nominal and consequential damages from Patelco.

"Once private information is stolen, particularly identification numbers, fraudulent use of that information and damage to victims may continue for years," the lawsuit states

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for Northern California. Others were filed in the Alameda County Superior Court.

Without access to their bank accounts, Patelco customers told NBC Bay Area on Monday that they are worried and stressed about how late payments will impact their credit scores. Some are considering removing their money out of Patelco as soon as they are able to.

Livermore resident Rachel Richards is a single mom of two teenagers. She said that she has already racked up $175 in late fees since Patelco’s data breach shut down access to her funds.

“I haven't been able to pay rent, i haven't been able to fill up our cars, i have no idea what my bank account balance is,” she said.

Richards said she managed to withdraw the maximum amount of cash from her account last week, but her reserves are starting to dry up.

“I know Patelco is working hard and they're doing the best they can its just very scary not knowing, we're supposed to travel again this weekend for a baseball tournament so I’m getting nervous for how I’m going to pay for that,” she said.

Meanwhile in South San Francisco, the clock is ticking for patelco customer Ulderico Cirello, with wedding vendor deposits due in the next month.

“They are time sensitive, so missing a payment is not so much having a bad credit score but missing the reserve all together,” he said.

There's also the added stress of not knowing how much of Cirello’s personal data was stolen in the cyberattack. He's planning to withdraw all funds as soon as he has access to his Patelco account.

The data breach is a big concern for Drake Lynn, a Santa Clara-based security guard who banks with Patelco.

“How bad was the hack? They have not been transparent,” he said.

Lynn’s advice? Purchase identity theft protection and keep an eye on your credit reports.

The full statement from Patelco CEO Erin Mendez released Sunday:

"To our valued members, the Patelco team has worked tirelessly through the weekend to advance our restoration efforts and fix this issue for our members as quickly and safely as possible. First and foremost, our members’ money is safe and secure, and we are marching diligently toward full functionality.

"I know I’ve stated this to you before, but the restoration of our systems while ensuring their future security requires careful and methodical work. I know this may not be moving as quickly as you’d like, but please know we are working as quickly as we can and we know how critically important this is to our members.

"I am happy to report that we have stabilized our network and begun processing transactions. Once this is complete and we achieve full banking functionality, our members will be able to access their account balance and accounts as they typically would under normal circumstances. I can’t share an exact date when we will be back to business as usual, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I will keep you updated as we make progress on that front, specifically.

"I am committed to helping you through this outage and promise to keep you informed on our progress in further updates to come."