Ransomware kidnappers have successfully extracted some $600,000 from the city of Riviera Beach, Florida to unlock its computer systems and restore essential data.
The Palm Beach suburb joins a growing number of governments, municipalities and businesses victimized by a wave of ransomware (see below). Here’s what’s known about the Riviera Beach cyber attack: (via the Palm Beach Post)
It's not clear if Riviera Beach officials consulted with outside security experts such as managed security service providers before concluding to pay the ransom.
Paying the Ransomware Bounty: Is It Worth It?
Recent SentinelOne research shows us that 45 percent of U.S. companies hit with a ransomware attack paid at least one ransom, but only 26 percent of these companies had their files unlocked. Furthermore, organizations that paid the ransoms were targeted and attacked again 73 percent of the time as attackers treat paying companies like ATMs, according to Chris Bates, VP, security strategy at SentinelOne.
"The real answer is taking a proactive approach and updating legacy defense systems susceptible to sophisticated attacks, in addition to allocating additional resources to security team staffing, training and support," Bates asserts.
Still, it's clear that municipalities and their representatives are struggling to understand and mitigate cyberthreats. “This whole thing is so new to me and so foreign and it’s almost where I can’t even believe that this happens but I’m learning that it’s not as uncommon as we would think it is,” Riviera Beach Council Chairwoman KaShamba Miller-Anderson told the Post. “Every day I’m learning how this even operates, because it just sounds so far fetched to me.”
The city council had earlier voted to spend roughly $1 million on new computer equipment following the May 29 hack, the Post reported. More than 300 new desktop and laptop computers are on the work order. Insurance will cover more than one-third of that requisition. Much of the existing hardware was at least six years old and vulnerable to another malware attack, Councilwoman Julie Botel told the Post.
Making deals with cyber crooks is anything but on the level. Last year, nearby Palm Springs was hit by a ransomware hack and, despite paying an undisclosed sum to unlock its records, still lost two years of data, a source told the Post.
The FBI, Homeland Security and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the Florida attack.
Ransomware Attacks Hit Cities, Government Infrastructure
In recent months, ransomware and malware attacks have targeted municipal IT operations, government and transportation systems in recent months. Here are some examples:
