So many of us still have nightmares of WannaCry and NotPetya. Those are the malware viruses that nearly crippled British computer systems back in May 2017. But now Atlanta is under the gun. Ransomware hacks Atlanta: Is it SamSam?
Over the past 24 hours, malware crept into Atlanta’s IT service systems. Because of this, the city government can’t even do simple things. This includes processing payments and getting court case information. Then, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms addressed the attacks. She assured the Atlanta people the government will be open the next day (which is today). She also said this malware didn’t attack airports, public safety or services.
Mayor Bottoms stated she’s working with federal agencies to see who compromised what data. But here’s what we do know. SamSam ransomware sent a note. The note demanded $51,000 in Bitcoin to let go of the systems.They’re also demanding certain files. I cringe to think what those files are and what they want with them.? That’s almost six Bitcoin. SamSam is just one of malware systems that attack government and health care systems. Furthermore, SamSam has been doing this since 2015. They deliberately target these systems because they know how critical gov’t and health care are to the people. Thus, leaders are more likely to pay the ransom. These hackers also know they have better means to pay than individuals or small businesses.
But immediately after the attacks started, Atlanta tweeted the people of what’s going on. The mayor followed that with a press conference, and got federal agencies like FBI and DHS involved. Microsoft also helped out in this. So I applaud Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms for how she handled Ransomware hacks Atlanta. Hopefully, all systems are normal in Atlanta. Why does what happen in Atlanta affect Boston, particularly near our Boston computer service shop? If it can happen in Atlanta, what makes you think it can’t happen in Boston?