Question: Regarding the cyberattack on Oahu Transit Services, what personal information about bus passengers was exposed, and how many are affected?
Answer: Travis Ota, a spokesperson for Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services, said the number of people affected is not yet known but that he could describe some of the information exposed.
“At this time, OTS believes that an old database which was previously used to print bus passes may have been accessed. This database was used prior to the transition to HOLO cards, and data from the HOLO system was not compromised in the breach,” he said Thursday in an email. “Information from the old system that was breached includes names and addresses. No financial information or government numbers, including Social Security numbers, are believed to have been compromised. More information on the systems breach will be provided once the investigation is concluded.”
OTS continues to investigate the source and cause, he said.
He emphasized that Holo card accounts were unaffected, “as information is passed and stored through a different network.”
OTS, the private nonprofit company that runs TheBus and TheHandi-Van mass transit systems for the city, phased out paper transit passes as it switched to electronic fare cards in 2021. Skyline, the rail-transit system that opened in 2023, has only ever used Holo cards and was not disrupted, city officials said.
TheBus website was working again late Thursday afternoon, after the cyberattack that became apparent Saturday had frozen it and disrupted other online services for days. OTS disconnected Holo card readers on buses and paratransit vans as a precaution, allowing passengers to simply show their card, or pay cash if possible; card readers were expected to be back on by today.
Kokua Line has heard from TheHandi-Van passengers wanting more information about the breach. These passengers undergo a rigorous application process that requires them to provide personal information, including details about the disability that makes them eligible to ride. They want specifics about any breach of their passes or applications. We’ve sought more information from the city.
Q: The opening ceremony for the Festival of Pacific Arts & Culture was a wonderful experience, highlighted by each country presenting a gift to Hawaii, as the host. But will the public ever have the opportunity to view the gifts?
A: Gov. Josh Green hopes they will be displayed on Oahu within a few months, according to a statement from his office, which said, “The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts is currently photographing, processing and cataloging all of the items gifted by countries to the state of Hawai‘i. This work is being conducted in its secure facility. SFCA is also preparing condition reports, including provenance for each gift. Our intention is to work with SFCA on determining appropriate state sites for display of these items. Our hope is that displays throughout O‘ahu will become open to the public this summer or early fall.”
You are one of several readers asking, having attended or viewed FestPAC’s opening ceremony on June 6, where Pacific delegations presented culturally significant gifts, such as traditional carvings, woven mats, tapa cloth, tools and ornaments. This was Hawaii’s first time hosting FestPAC, which wrapped up Sunday after a jubilant 10 days on Oahu described as the world’s largest celebration of Indigenous Pacific Islanders. More than 3,000 delegates from 26 Pacific island nations, territories or Indigenous groups participated, and the festival also attracted hundreds of thousands of Hawaii residents and visitors to events that were open to the general public.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
