Possible data breach affects 8,500 Palm Bay residents who used online billing system

PALM BAY, Fla. — The city of Palm Bay is monitoring a possible data breach involving the city’s online utilities payment system.

The company that operates the system found evidence of malware that may have compromised the billing information of thousands of customers.

The city said the information on Click2Gov is encrypted, meaning if someone attempted to access billing information, it would have to be unlocked.

The city is urging customers to monitor their credit card statements for potentially fraudulent activity.
About 8,500 Palm Bay residents use the online billing system monthly. The city is still working to determine how many of them may have had their data exposed.

The city of Palm Bay said it was contacted Aug. 29 by Central Square about possible security vulnerabilities within the online payment system.

On Sept. 5, after a forensics report found evidence of potential malware, the city of Palm Bay removed any suspicious files and moved the billing data to a new server.

“I try not to do anything online. We’ve had our debit cards skimmed and hacked through card readers on gas pumps, and experience tells me got to keep it old school," said Damara Sherlock, a resident of Palm Bay.

Central Square said protecting customer information is one of the company’s most important goals. The company said a small number of customers have reported unauthorized access to their accounts.

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Cox Media Group