DeWitt County steps up cybersecurity after losing over $305,000
An investigation into a cybersecurity crime involving the banking information of an approved vendor and its financial impact on the county was discussed with commissioners during a closed session of the DeWitt County Commissioners Court on Monday, July 11, according to a press release from DeWitt County Judge Daryl Fowler.
The transaction was in the amount of $305,301.75 according to Judge Fowler. He also confirmed that the employee who authorized the changes was terminated.
“On June 14 a county employee responded to an email from an approved vendor seeking to change its bank account information. The change would affect the electronic payment of future invoices approved by commissioner’s court. On June 27, the commissioner’s court approved invoices submitted by the approved vendor. An electronic payment was made to the vendor’s bank account on or about the same day using the new bank account information,” the release stated.
The county auditor became aware that the electronic payment was made to an unverified bank account of the approved vendor and that the payment was at risk of being diverted on July 5. The vendor confirmed it had not received any recent payments from the county.
The release went on to state that after an investigation into the cybersecurity crime was initiated “a branch of Bank of America confirmed that the account to which the funds were diverted had been opened by a Nigerian citizen; had received several automatic clearinghouse deposits on the same day; and all funds received were subsequently wire-transferred to institutions outside of the United States.”
“We have been notified that our insurance carrier is accepting the claim we submitted and the county will receive a $250,000 insurance payment less a small deductible to offset the loss. The banks involved are still working the incident with tools at their disposal,” Fowler said.
County officials believe this was an isolated incident and no other risks are known. The press release also stated that cybersecurity measures have been stepped up as a result of this incident.
Gloss