The city council for Riviera Beach, Florida, voted this week to pay more than $600,000 to a ransomware gang so city officials could recover data that has been locked and encrypted more than three weeks ago.
The city's decision, as reported by CBS News, came after officials came to the conclusion that there was no other way to recover the city's files.
Access to Riviera City data has been locked since May 29, this year, when a Riviera Beach police department employee opened an email and unleashed ransomware on the city's network.
The ransomware locked files and shut down all the city's services. Operations have been down ever since, with the exception of 911 services, which were able to continue to operate, although limited.
The city's website, email server, billing system, and everything else has been down ever since, with all city communications being done in person, over the telephone, or via posters.
The city has been having a hard time recovering from the incident ever since.
Do not EVER pay these crooks: you just end up sticking a big target on your head! Instead: keep your system up to date, patch, backup, don't click on random links. Seek professional advice if unsure. Stay safe out there folks!
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