Town Avoids Paying Massive $5 Million Ransom In Cyberattack
New Bedford, Mass., was hit by an attack in July. Instead of paying up, the city opened communication with the attacker and bided its time until the data could be restored.
When the city of New Bedford, Mass., was hit by a ransomware attack in July, with hackers demanding $5.3 million in bitcoin to release the city's data, town officials tried an old law enforcement tactic to deal with hostage-takers: open dialogue and stall for time.
New Bedford's computer network was attacked with on the night of July 4, Mayor John Mitchell on Wednesday. Because the attack occurred over a holiday and most computers were shut off, the malware spread to just 4% of the city's more than 3,500 computers.
