The cybercriminals breached servers in Baltimore, Maryland, causing various systems to be taken offline and shutting down several municipal works. The attackers used a ransom called ransomware, the latest player in the world of cyberattacks.
There are about 7,000 users in the whole system, which had to move many of their operations to “manual mode” as a potential workplace. The real estate transaction arrangement was also taken because of the obstruction of purchases, which the city decided only for him this week.
The FBI was notified and the city system was taken offline for protection. The attack was discovered on May 7th, when city officials found that some critical files had been remotely encrypted and could no longer be accessed. However, the attackers had already taken down a payment system for email, voicemail, a database of parking fines and water, property taxes and vehicle quotes.
The digital ransom note, which Baltimore Sun saw, demanded three bitcoins or a total of 13 bitcoins for each system. Cryptocurrency cannot be detected, which is why it was called for in a recent ransomware attack. The value of Bitcoin also fluctuates a lot. Today, 13 bitcoins are worth about $102,000, but when the attack took place, they were worth less than $75,000.
“We are well on our way to recovery, and as I indicated, we are cooperating with the FBI in the investigation. Because of that investigation we are unable to share information about the attack. As much as we can, we will keep you informed about our process,” Baltimore Mayor Bernard Young said in a statement. “While some recovery efforts also restore the function of our business, we need to rebuild some of our systems to make sure we are doing it in a secure manner. I am not able to give you an exact timeline for when all systems will be restored. “
The situation is another example of the threat to the public’s infrastructural cybercrime, especially if it occurs at the national level. In March 2018, the city of Atlanta, Georgia, was the victim of a ransom attack that cost those $2.6 million to recover.
