While it is possible to trace bitcoins as they are spent, the owners of the accounts aren’t necessarily known, making it a favored payment method in ransomware attacks. The hackers demanded payment in the cryptocurrency bitcoin. “We are relying on their (the consultants’) advice,” she said. The FBI on its website says it “doesn’t support” paying off hackers, but Riviera Beach isn’t alone: many government agencies and businesses do. The payment is being covered by insurance. She conceded there are no guarantees that once the hackers received the money they will release the records. Spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown said Wednesday that the city of 35,000 residents has been working with outside security consultants, who recommended the ransom be paid. 'I'm gay': How coming out online has evolved
The city says there was no delay in response time. The hackers apparently got into the city’s system when an employee clicked on an email link that allowed them to upload malware.Īlong with the encrypted records, the city had numerous problems including a disabled email system, employees and vendors being paid by check rather than direct deposit and 911 dispatchers being unable to enter calls into the computer.
The council already voted to spend almost $1 million on new computers and hardware after hackers captured the city’s system three weeks ago. The Riviera Beach City Council voted unanimously this week to pay the hackers’ demands, believing the Palm Beach suburb had no choice if it wanted to retrieve its records, which the hackers encrypted. – A Florida city agreed to pay $600,000 in ransom to hackers who took over its computer system, the latest in thousands of attacks worldwide aimed at extorting money from governments and businesses.
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