Indiana county pays $132,000 in computer attack ransom
Posted July 19, 2019 7:00 am
LAPORTE, Ind. (AP) - Officials in a northern Indiana county paid about $132,000 in ransom to hackers who took over some of the county's computers.
LaPorte County commissioners president Vidya Kora says the payment was made with the virtual currency Bitcoin after FBI experts weren't able to unlock the county's data. Once paid off, the hackers gave the county a decryption key for staffers to access the locked computers.
The virus attack hit the county's computers and server network July 6. Officials say a system shutdown prevented the virus from spreading to most of the county's computers.
Kora says the personal information of county employees doesn't appear to have been accessed by the hackers. Insurance will cover $100,000 of ransom paid.
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