The Rocky Hill firm that designed and operated a state Web site recently breached in a cyber attack says it is working with state authorities to identify the violators.
The Pita Group was operating the Great Park Pursuit site for the state Department of the Environmental Protection when the attack occurred.
DEP announced the data breach last Friday. Because the program was free, no personal financial information was compromised, authorities said.
“The security breach was to a web application that was developed for the No Child Left Inside initiative,” Managing Principal Kim Pita told HBJ Today in an e-mailed statement Wednesday. “Upon our initial investigation with our hosting provider, no other data, web applications or web sites were compromised during the breach.”
Kim Pita said the firm is cooperating with investigators from DEP and the state Department of Information Technology.
DEP spokesman Dennis Schain said state police investigators also are working in the probe, which has yet to turn up suspects, a motive or damages from the attack.
Meanwhile, The Day of New London reported on its Web site that The Pita Group has been paid $98,760 since July 2007 to create and maintain the Great Park Pursuit Web site, citing data from the state Comptroller’s office.
The DEP said that it had notified all the families that has signed up thus far for the 2010 contest. The site was removed from the Internet after the breach was discovered, and Pita was also asked by the DEP to remove the associated Facebook and Twitter accounts it had created for the contest.
 Over the last five years, Pita has had a total of eight state contracts from various agencies, and been paid a total of about $9.6 million over that period. Its largest contract has been with the state Commission on Culture, Arts & Tourism. Among other projects, Pita is handling the Web site for the state’s 375th anniversary celebration.
