City of Tallahassee Payroll Affected By Hack On Out-of-State, Third-Party Vendor Payroll Service

Who: City of Tallahassee

# of Accounts Breached: undetermined

What was affected: $498,000 payroll money

When it happened: April 3, 2019

How it happened: Almost half a million dollars was diverted out of the city of Tallahassee’s employee payroll Wednesday after a suspected foreign cyber-attack of its human resources management application. ​Hackers attempt every day to breach the city’s security, officials say, but this week’s operation netted about $498,000. The out-of-state, third-party vendor that hosts the city’s payroll services was hacked and as a result, the direct deposit paychecks were redirected. Employees throughout the city’s workforce were affected.

Outcome: The city is working with its bank to recover the money and already has recouped 25 percent of the missing funds. It is also in touch with its insurance company and law enforcement to pursue criminal charges.