With the onset of a ransomware attack, first discovered on May 7, infecting the city which forced the city to take down its online systems and service to control the damage. The hackers demand $76,000 worth of bitcoins be released in 13 bitcoins each to all city’s systems.
The message from the hackers suggests they were planning these for days. All they want is money. The Baltimore officials have refused to negotiate, and the FBI is investigating the hack. Ironically, the ransom note revealed that the hacker used “RobbinHood”, as malware.
Sources suggest that more than 7,000 computers were hacked and they knocked out the website that the people use to pay parking tickets, water bills and also took down govt’s email accounts.
Major chaos ensures as Baltimore recovers from the crippling attack
The mayor office updated that Real estate sales resumed on Monday and transactions are to be paid in person. They processed 42 deed applications on Monday. Baltimore mayor updated that the restorative measure is on the way, but the timeline hasn’t been updated yet. However, he said that their focus is to vital service back to work in a way that our security isn’t compromised.
This hasn’t affected the 911 call for emergencies, and the Baltimore resident had to deal with the govt either on the phone or in person. This is the second cyber-attack on Baltimore in just over a year.
The NPR suggest that more than 20 municipalities have been a victim of cyber attack in 2019 alone.
Things haven’t been going well for Baltimore who saw their previous Mayor Catherine Pugh resigned just a month ago. He was involved in a scandal over the illegal sales of her children’s book “Healthy Holly”, which were sold to companies with business with the city.
