The FBI is investigating who hacked into the Foothills Park & Recreation District’s computer system in south Jefferson County and may have stolen the personal information of several of the district’s patrons.
The data accessed by the hacker may have contained credit-card information but did not include Social Security numbers, said Ron Hopp, executive director of the district.
Hopp said today that the case was turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation after an initial investigation indicated that the hacker was very sophisticated and may have had “international” connections.
Hopp said today that “less than 10” people who utilized the district’s facilities believe they have had fraudulent activity on their credit cards.
The district first reported the breach about four weeks ago.
Since then, said Hopp, FBI agents have visited the district in what Hopp said was an ongoing federal investigation.
The information that may have been used belonged to those who have registered for classes either online at or at one of the district’s facilities.
Hopp said that the district has implemented many security upgrades since the breach and that as of Thursday, people in the district could again safely register for the district’s activities online.
He said that credit-card information is now being handled by an off-site, third-party vendor.
Hopp said that beginning in the last week of September, numerous viruses attacked the system, which investigators now believe was part of the hackers’ preliminary plan to get into the system.
He said that the viruses showed up in the form of English-language letters and characters that made no sense.
The hacking was verified Sept. 29.
The district hired a network-security consultant, who audited the system and made recommendations for future security measures.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
