In the city of Midland (population of slightly more than 16 000) in the canadian province of Ontario happened: in early September, the city computer system was hacked and infected with malware. The cyber attack led to the fact that the computers were idle for two days. Suffered mail, payment processing, licensing, re-download transit maps and the processing of applications on conclusion or dissolution of marriage.
However, critical services such as the fire service and waste disposal service, has not been affected. For unlocking systems, the hackers demanded a ransom in bitcoins, and the city, as reported by CCN, I decided to pay the money (amount not mentioned) in exchange for decryption keys.
In a press release the city Council Midland said:
Although it is not perfect out of the situation, it is in our interest to bring the system back online as quickly as possible. Insurance policy developed in the past by the city authorities, provides for such circumstances. We are in the process of obtaining keys to decrypt.
The decision of the authorities of Midland to meet the demands of hackers contrasts with the position of the American Association of professional golfers, which last month was in a similar situation, but did not pay.
However, Midland is not alone in his choice. For example, in August, a cyber security company Sophos reported that the creators of the ransomware with SamSam the end of 2015, managed to obtain more than $6 million in ransom. It is known that one individual paid the fee of $64 000.
Moreover, as follows from last year’s report prepared by experts of Google, Chainanalysis and University of California, San Diego and new York, creators of various malware over the past 24 months has managed to collect $25 million in bitcoin. Most of these funds were cashed via BTC-e.
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