BILLINGS — A Billings nonprofit called Angel Horses Inc is in jeopardy of shutting down after losing $70,000 in a cyberhack earlier this month.
The organization is approaching 27 years of service and uses rescue horses to help bring the elderly and sick joy through interaction.
Owner Jonnie Jonckowski said it's a unique organization that helps both the animals and humans.
"It's a rescue twice," Jonckowski said Tuesday morning while petting the horses. "Rescues humans and rescues these guys. Everyone calls it equine therapy, but it's not really that kind of physical rehabilitation. It's more emotional."
Jonckowski said the organization runs entirely on donations and that every penny gets spent, which is why the recent loss from the hack has caused serious concern about the future.
"I got a notification from my spyware that there had been a hack," Jonckowski said. "They got into our bank account and before we knew it, we were scammed out of $70,000."
Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder confirmed on Tuesday that his office is investigating the incident. Jonckowski said that so far, things aren't looking great.
"We're still hoping that some of the funds can be recovered, but at this point nothing has been recovered," Jonckowski said.
Tanner Irigoin with the Billings Tech Guys said that they get calls about these types of hacks almost weekly, and that in most cases, prevention is key.
"Probably once a week we get a phone call, even just smaller breaches to bigger breaches," Irigoin said Tuesday afternoon. "That's why we really emphasize being proactive. Don't wait until something happens."
Irigoin admits that security is becoming harder to find. He said that hackers are advancing their skills, meaning their business needs to as well.
"We probably attend a cyber security conference once a month," Irigoin said. "We have to update our software as often as the criminals do."
For Jonckowski, it's not the first time her organization has encountered adversity. Flooding from a storm in June of 2023 nearly caused them to close their doors for good.
"I feel almost as devastated as I did before," Jonckowski said between tears. "I just want to throw my arms up and walk away because it's been so hard."
Jonckowski said this attack feels eerily similar to the flood. Back then, the community rallied, donating thousands of dollars to save the nonprofit.
"To get through the flood and have the community support us in the most incredible way, it's even hard to stand here again and realize we're in the situation again," Jonckowski said. "You don't ever want to ask twice."
A GoFundMe has been created in an effort to generate money for the organization. Jonckowski said regardless of what happens, she won't go down without a fight.
"Our community was hacked in my mind," Jonckowski said. "They want to take this away from Billings, and I don't want to let it happen."
