City of Beacon Computer Files Hacked And Published On Dark Web After Ransom Note Allegedly Ignored

Personal and financial information "for hundreds of current, former and retired city employees, including police officers and firefighters" has been published on the dark web by the hacker group RansomHouse, the Highlands Current reported today. Documents that the newspaper say they have reviewed "appear to contain the contents of computers used by the City Administrator, Building Inspector, Finance Director, Tax Assessor and Human Resources Director, among other employees."

There have been several Building Inspectors in recent years. Beacon’s City Administrator Chris White retired unexpectedly in March 2026, stating that his final day would be in June. However, he was on leave after his announcement through April, and never returned.

According to a message the paper found, the hackers allege that they informed the City about the breach, but did not get a response: "Dear management of City of Beacon, we were waiting for you for quite some time, but it seems that your IT department decided to conceal the incident that took place in your company.”

The article stated that City Administrator Ben Swanson gave a statement that the City is aware of the incident, but that statement is neither at the City of Beacon’s Facebook page nor the City of Beacon’s Police Facebook page.

RansomHouse allegedly said that they hacked in on July 23rd, and allegedly announced that they did so on August 6th. New York State's Cybersecurity Incident and Ransom Payment Reporting law requires municipalities to report breaches and ransom demands within 72 hours to authorities, and to people whose data was compromised within 30 days. Authorities include the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, the Division of Consumer Protection, the Attorney General, and New York State Police.

The state law also states that a ransom payment be reported within 24 hours of payment, and that a ransom payment explanation within 30 days of payment.