Earlier this month, hackers successfully deployed a piece of ransomware that, for about two weeks now, has effectively shut down a range of key public services in the city of Baltimore. All told, the ransomware in question has locked down approximately 10,000 government computers. The hackers responsible for the attack — who remain unknown at this point — are demanding 13 bitcoins in exchange for returning things back to normal, a figure that comes out to about $102,000.
The ransomware attack has essentially taken the Baltimore city government hostage. What this means on a practical level is that the city government cannot access email accounts or even process payments to employees. Further, real estate transactions cannot be processed and citizens remain unable to make a range of utility payments.
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Ransomware attack on Baltimore continues to hold the city hostage originally appeared on BGR.com on Wed, 22 May 2019 at 17:29:33 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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