Over 200 victims in Europe and beyond continue to suffer from a brand new ransomware attack demanding Bitcoin Attack.Ransom to release encrypted files . Known as Bad Rabbit , the ransomware of unknown origin demands Attack.Ransom 0.05 BTC ( $ 290 ) to unlock infected computers . Its progress focuses on Russia and Ukraine , with outbreaks also reported in Turkey and Germany , according to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab . “ While the target is visiting a legitimate website , a malware dropper is being downloaded from the threat actor ’ s infrastructure , ” a report on the ransomware released Tuesday explains . “ No exploits were used , so the victim would have to manually execute the malware dropper , which pretends to be Attack.Phishing an Adobe Flash installer . We ’ ve detected a number of compromised websites , all of which were news or media websites. ” As of Thursday , it has become apparent those targets fall outside the news and media sphere , with Odessa Airport and the Kiev Metro ’ s payment system also seeing breakdowns . Bad Rabbit is just the latest cyberattack Attack.Ransom to hit Attack.Ransom the Russian and Ukrainian zone , with WannaCry and NotPetya all having left their mark over the past six months . The ransom demands Attack.Ransom from Bad Rabbit ’ s hackers are similar to those of WannaCry at around $ 300 per machine . Unlike NotPetya , however , there appears to be no attempt to wipe data from victims , whether or not they send the requisite Bitcoins Attack.Ransom . Kaspersky adds it is not yet known whether or not paying the ransomware amount Attack.Ransom results in full control being returned .

When two ransomware attacks hit Attack.Ransom the city of Riverside in April and May , it wasn ’ t the first time the city ’ s public safety servers lost data because of a malicious virus , this newspaper found in a review of city records . A check of newspapers across Ohio reveals similar unfortunate targets around the state : Licking County government , the Columbiana County courts and townships in Clinton and Morrow counties were once all ransomware victims . In Clark County , hackers encrypted the Mad River Twp . Fire and EMS servers with ransomware in December . The damage extends across the nation : When a library system in South Carolina faced a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , patrons couldn ’ t check out or return books . In Richmond , Indiana , the local housing agency fell victim to a $ 8,000 ransom Attack.Ransom . Hackers shut down 2,000 computers at Colorado ’ s transportation department , then attacked again when the agency tried to recover . While the hackers ’ ideal target — and the damage caused — varies , one certainty is that local governments are not exempt from the pain of ransomware , which is malicious software that threatens to block access to data or to publish it unless the infected organization pays a ransom Attack.Ransom . The ransom demands Attack.Ransom are often relatively small compared to an organization ’ s overall budget , but the cost of avoiding payment can be steep , as the city of Atlanta found this year . An attacker demanded Attack.Ransom a $ 50,000 ransom Attack.Ransom to restore the Atlanta ’ s systems , but the city ended up shelling out nearly $ 2.7 million on eight emergency contracts in an attempt to fix the problem . Experts encouraged all computer users to follow one rule to avoid ransomware ’ s predilection for data destruction . “ Real simple , ” said John Moore , a computer technician in Trotwood . “ Back up your data. ” Prior attack uncovered Hackers hit Riverside ’ s police computers with ransomware several years before the latest incidents , emails obtained by the newspaper show . The attack — previously unknown to the public before this story — occurred under a prior city manager and also saw the police department lose documents , according to an email from Councilman Steve Fullenkamp to other city leaders . Sometimes , as was the case with at least one of Riverside ’ s recent attacks , the virus can be downloaded by clicking on an infected email . Organizations often don ’ t learn they have been infected until they can ’ t access their data or until computer messages appear demanding a ransom payment Attack.Ransom in exchange for a decryption key , according to the FBI ’ s website . The first of the recent attacks against Riverside erased about 10 months of police records , the records show . The second attack wiped just several hours of data , because the city had backed-up the data .