Article:
Half a million customers of Patelco Credit Union in Dublin, California, remain unable to access their accounts following a security breach that occurred on Saturday. The breach forced the credit union to shut down its banking operations, including online and mobile banking, in order to address the issue and contain its impact.

Patelco's President and CEO, Erin Mendez, sent a systemwide email to customers on Saturday, acknowledging the "serious security breach" and apologizing for the inconvenience caused. The credit union's website stated that their branches, call center, and chat services would be available to assist customers during regular business hours starting from July 1st, but they were unable to provide specific account details at the time.

Approximately 500,000 members of Patelco Credit Union were affected by the breach, with online access to their accounts completely blocked. Customers were unable to check their balances, perform transactions, or change passwords. Patelco advised customers to use over 30,000 shared branch ATMs across the United States for cash withdrawals and deposits. However, many customers expressed frustration over the limited access to their funds.

Patelco faced criticism for the delay in issuing an official statement and for not providing information about the safety of customers' assets. The company responded by assuring customers that their security and peace of mind were top priorities and urged them to stay tuned for more updates.

Julie Brusca, a resident of San Jose, reported being unable to access her Patelco bank account since Saturday morning. Despite attempting to check her balances multiple times, she received no response. When Brusca visited a local Patelco ATM on Sunday, she still couldn't access her accounts. It wasn't until a company-wide notice from the bank's CEO was sent at 1:53 p.m. that Brusca and other customers were made aware of the situation. Brusca expressed frustration over the lack of clarity regarding the breach.

By Monday afternoon, Patelco had not provided further details about the severity or cause of the security breach. Their press office did not immediately respond to requests for comments, and Mendez remained silent as well. In a later statement, Patelco confirmed that the breach was a result of a "ransomware attack" and announced that they had engaged a cybersecurity forensic firm to investigate and recover from the situation.

For customers like Brusca, the timing of the breach couldn't have been worse. With the end of the month approaching and a bank holiday on July 4th, she was expecting a retirement payment to be deposited into her account, but now she has no way of knowing whether the payment went through.

Questions about the safety of customers' funds have emerged, especially for those who rely on direct debits for rent or other important payments. The longer the issue persists, the more damage it could cause to Patelco's reputation, as customers grow increasingly frustrated with being unable to access their money.

Patelco Credit Union, the third-largest credit union in the Bay Area, has multiple branches throughout various cities, including San Jose, Campbell, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and Milpitas. They also have branches in other locations such as Fremont, Redwood City, Hayward, Oakland, Berkeley, and more.

As Patelco continues to work tirelessly to resolve the breach and restore full access to accounts, affected customers anxiously await updates and hope for a swift resolution to this troubling incident.