Data breach hits Conservatory

The Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens experienced a data breach this past summer and is in the process of notifying the nearly 5,000 patrons thought affected by it.

According to a statement from the organization, the computer systems at the botanical gardens had a service interruption on July 21.

The organization didn't have access to their servers until Aug. 12, when it returned to a fully functioning system with the help of experts. Those who visited the park between July 21 and Aug. 12 could have been affected, said Jennifer Wilson, its director of marketing.

The event was caused by unauthorized actors deploying ransomware in Franklin Park's environment, which encrypted the organization's servers, the statement also read

Following a forensic investigation done by a third party, the park determined that some personal data was impacted.

Currently, the conservatory is in the process of contacting those individuals about the breach and offering them credit monitoring and call center support from specialists.

Those letters should have gone out in the mail already, Wilson said.

“You will receive communication from us or a third-party vendor,” Wilson said. “If you don't receive anything, you weren't affected.”

The conservatory has since taken steps to enhance their security with the help of expert vendors.