The emergency alert system used by the City of East Peoria recently experienced a breach that exposed its users’ personal information and data.
According to a media release from the city, its OnSolve CodeRED system from Crisis24 was hacked by a “cybercriminal group victimizing the platform and its customers.”
East Peoria’s police, fire, public works and communications departments have used CodeRED for several years to distribute messages alerting residents of law enforcement and weather emergencies, road conditions and closures, boil advisories and more.
The voluntary, opt-in system has also been used by City Hall, EastSide Centre and the Fon du Lac Park District.
A statement from Crisis24 provided by East Peoria says they believe data associated with OnSolve CodeRED was “removed from our systems.”
“In the regular course of business, our platform is typically used to provide mass notification emergency alerts and requires only basic contact information about subscribers used to provide such alerts,” the statement read. “While data appears to have been published online, we are still determining whether it came from our systems, and we cannot confirm the scope or exact elements at this time.”
User information that could have been exposed includes names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and associated passwords.
The city says the CodeRED platform was immediately decommissioned. Backup data was used to build a new platform, and residents who had been signed up as of March 31 were automatically transferred.
Residents and CodeRED subscribers are encouraged to change any of their system passwords that may have been used for their other accounts.
Crisis24 said in its statement that its investigation is still underway and thorough completion will take time.
“Our immediate priority is ensuring your alert and notification needs are fully addressed,” the company said. “We will share further information as we can, and we will also provide our customers with the information needed to issue legally required notifications, if any.”
