Customers of Patelco Credit Union continue to grapple with the repercussions of a ransomware attack that has left many unable to fully manage their finances online, and now the credit union faces a class action lawsuit. According to ABC10, the suit was filed on July 1 by Oakland law firm Cole & Van Note, citing Patelco's "failure to properly secure and safeguard" members' personal information following the cyberattack.
The legal action came on the heels of the credit union's systems going offline, impacting payments, direct deposits, transfers, and mobile banking capabilities with services still only partially restored after two weeks causing frustration and financial dilemmas for customers, some of whom struggling to fulfill time-sensitive obligations. Patelco, acknowledging the significant inconvenience, advised affected customers to reach out to creditors and promised to reimburse any late fees, as reported by KRON4.
With continued uncertainty around the full restoration of all services, customers have expressed discontent over the lack of communication, with the most recent update from Patelco being several days old. Despite setbacks, Patelco's assurance that its networks are secure and customer funds are safe offers tepid comfort as the exact return to normalcy remains unannounced.
The lawsuit itself alleges recklessness on Patelco's part in failing to properly secure its systems, consequently exposing customers' sensitive personal data, which may require victims to invest undisclosed amounts of time assessing the future impact on their privacy and credit. In a statement on Patelco's website, CEO Erin Mendez could not provide a concrete timeframe for service restoration but emphasized that progress is being made daily, telling customers, "We expect to make 50% progress on this task by tomorrow and are expecting to be completely caught up by the end of the week," leaving those affected in a state of limbo until a definitive update materializes.
