Columbus continues restoring systems after data breach

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- The city of Columbus is making progress in its recovery efforts from the ransomware attack in late July. 

That attack put the private information of half a million people on the dark web. NBC4 Investigates broke the news that private information was compromised, despite the mayor saying otherwise.  

The director of the city’s Department of Technology said 84% of impacted systems are back up and running. We also learned the mayor’s new proposed budget would allow the department to add more positions focused on cyber security.  

"As much as I've seen the technology change in my long career, it is still a people business," Columbus Department of Technology Director Sam Orth said. 

Those people would help the city better protect its data moving forward.    

"Several of those positions, not all, but many of them will be focused on cybersecurity, particularly dedicated resources to help city departments in understanding their data as it relates to cybersecurity in their systems," Orth said. 

The city said critical systems are up and running and now Orth said the focus is on safely restoring city employee email access on their phones. Council members did ask questions during Monday’s update, with Councilmember Emmanuel Remy asking if the deadline to sign up for credit monitoring might be extended.  

"That's not something we're currently entertaining at this point in time,” Orth said. “That doesn't mean that we won't discuss it before the end of the deadline.” 

The deadline to sign up for free credit monitoring is Friday, Nov. 29. 

The breach report, which will outline how this attack happened and what was accessed, is expected by the end of the year. There is no other timeline for its report.