Riviera Beach: Florida town paying $600K ransom to get hacked city computer systems back up and running
On June 4, the City of Riviera Beach, Florida, posted a notice to the public on their website saying that the city had experienced “a data security event,” and that they were working diligently to correct the problem. Basically, the city’s computer systems went down on May 29 after “somebody in the city’s police department opened an email that initiated a virus that shut down the city’s computer network,” according to a report from Government Technology. The city had suffered a malware attack that severely crippled all essential systems.
WPBF reported that all of the city’s e-mail functions plus entire computer systems in several city departments were down and out. 911 calls were still getting through to the police department; but “police reports have to be taken by hand.”
Since that attack, the city was forced to return to 1970s technology to handle their communications. The city also had to spend close to $1 million for new equipment.
Unfortunately, all the city’s hard work and new hardware wasn’t enough to recover decades’ worth of essential data which was left encrypted by the malware attack. It was just recently that the city revealed that the hackers were demanding a ransom in order to recover that data.
Adding insult to injury, city leaders – desperate to get their computers back up and running – felt forced to agree to pay the hacker’s ransom demand in order to get the remainder of their critical systems back online. At a special council meeting held on June 17, “the council voted unanimously to authorize the city’s insurance carrier to pay a 65 Bitcoin ransom to recover the city’s data which has been encrypted,” according to WPTV.
That 65 Bitcoin ransom is the approximate equivalent of $600,000, which is on top of the $1 million the city had to spend for replacement hardware. WPTV also reported that the city’s insurance should cover the ransom.
After paying that ransom, city leaders hope they’ll be able to recover all their lost data. This week, at the same meeting where council members announced they’d be paying that $600,000 ransom, the council also introduced the city’s new IT Director.
Riviera Beach is in good company when it comes to malware shutting down city-wide computer systems. Allentown, Pennsylvania, San Antonio, Texas, Greenville, North Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland, have all suffered similar attacks costing those town millions of dollars.
Those hacks were attributed to the ransomware virus named “RobinHood.”
It’s not yet known if that’s the same virus that attacked Riviera Beach; but the Riviera Beach attack is currently under investigation by law enforcement officials.
~ Written by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
Also see:
- Disgruntled Texas Law student charged and jailed for cyberstalking
- Reward offered for arrest of female bank robber dubbed ‘Sweatpant Bandit’
- Toledo pastor Cordell Jenkins gets life in prison on child sex trafficking charges
- Amazon awarding $40K Scholarships and Internships to college students majoring in Computer Science
