Cyberattack hits Hudson Valley utility company

Cyberattack hits Hudson Valley utility company

A utility company in the Hudson Valley says it was hit by a cyberattack over the weekend and is warning customers to monitor their bank accounts for any suspect activity.

Central Hudson Gas and Electric says employees detected the intrusion on its computer system and there was no evidence as of Wednesday that personal or financial records had been downloaded or misused.

"We will be using an automated telephone system to call all of our customers for whom we have telephone contact information to alert them as to whether they are potentially affected or not by noon (Thursday)," said Central Hudson President James P. Laurito. He stressed that no evidence has been uncovered to date that confirms that any information was transferred during the attack, and that Central Hudson is taking these notification steps as an added precaution.

It says information on about 110,000 customers, about a third of the total, may have been involved. They're being offered a year of free credit monitoring as a precaution. Other customers are being notified their accounts aren't involved.

"Central Hudson is committed to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and security of personal information about our customers," said Laurito. "We use a variety of security measures to protect customer information, and we regularly adapt these controls to respond to changing requirements and advances in technology." 

Central Hudson says the investigation of the attack includes state and federal authorities.