The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (M.T.A) was victim to a cyberattack in April when a hacking group accessed the authorities computer systems. The hacking group who are thought to have ties with China breached three M.T.A’s computer systems. The breach took place over 2 days in April but was left unchecked for several days until it was discovered.
M.T.A officials have said that the hackers did not access systems associated with customer data, employee information, safety or train operations. According to M.T.A’s Chief Technology Officer Rafail Portnoy, an outside audit “found no evidence operational systems were impacted, no employee or customer information breached, no data loss and no changes to our vital systems.” Portnoy also said, “the MTA’s existing multi-layered security systems worked as designed, preventing spread of the attack and we continue to strengthen these comprehensive systems and remain vigilant as cyber-attacks are a growing global threat.”
