PGA of America computers were infected this week with a strain of malicious software that locked down critical files and demanded Attack.Ransom cryptocurrency for their return . Officials discovered on Tuesday that servers had been targeted in a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom that blocked them from obtaining access to material relating to major golf tournaments , including this week ’ s PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club . Some signage had been in development for over a year and could not be reproduced quickly , Golfweek reported . The extortion threat Attack.Ransom was clear : Transfer bitcoin to the hackers or lose the files forever . “ Your network has been penetrated . All files on each host in the network have been encrypted with a strong algorythm ( sic ) , ” a ransom read . “ Backups were either encrypted or deleted or backup disks were formatted. ” The note claimed shutting down the system may damage files . The notice included a bitcoin wallet number—where funds could be sent—and a warning that there was no way to get access to the files without a decryption key . The hackers that said they would prove their “ honest intentions ” to the PGA of America by unlocking two files free-of-charge . A source who asked not to be named told Golfweek that officials had no intention of paying the ransom demand Attack.Ransom —following the advice of most law enforcement officials and cybersecurity experts . The network remained locked on Wednesday and external researchers are still investigating . PGA of America has declined to comment . The golfing association did not reveal what ransomware infected its computers . But tech website Bleeping Computer found the demand matched the BitPaymer variant . Researcher Lawrence Abrams said one previous extortion Attack.Ransom scheme asked for Attack.Ransom 53 bitcoins , equivalent to $ 335,000 . Abrams described BitPaymer as a “ secure ransomware ” and said the PGA would either have to rely on backups to regain access to its files or pay Attack.Ransom the significant bitcoin demand Attack.Ransom .

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center paid Attack.Ransom a $ 17,000 ransom Attack.Ransom in bitcoin to a hacker who seized control of the hospital 's computer systems and would give back access only when the money was paid Attack.Ransom , the hospital 's chief executive said Wednesday . The assault Attack.Ransom on Hollywood Presbyterian occurred Feb 5 , when hackers using malware infected the institution 's computers , preventing hospital staff from being able to communicate from those devices , said Chief Executive Allen Stefanek . The hacker demanded Attack.Ransom 40 bitcoin , the equivalent of about $ 17,000 , he said . `` The malware locks systems by encrypting files and demanding ransom Attack.Ransom to obtain the decryption key . The quickest and most efficient way to restore our systems and administrative functions was to pay the ransom Attack.Ransom and obtain the decryption key , '' Stefanek said . `` In the best interest of restoring normal operations , we did this . '' The hospital said it alerted authorities and was able to regain control of all its computer systems by Monday , with the assistance of technology experts . Stefanek said patient care was never compromised Attack.Databreach , nor were hospital records . Top hospital officials called the Los Angeles Police Department last week , according to police Lt John Jenal . Laura Eimiller , an FBI spokeswoman , said the bureau has taken over the hacking investigation but declined to discuss specifics of the case . Law enforcement sources told The Times that the hospital paid the ransom Attack.Ransom before reaching out to law enforcement for assistance . The attack forced the hospital to return to pen and paper for its record-keeping .

Senate Democrats are still rebuilding their computer system after hackers demanded a ransom Attack.Ransom earlier this month to unlock the network . The state legislators ' offices continue to operate via a combination of cell phones and laptops , some personal and some provided by the caucus . In the last two weeks , email service was also restored . On Monday , Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa said Microsoft technicians would begin going around to strip down and rebuild every computer with the goal of having everything restored in the next several days . `` [ They are ] working to rebuild our network so we 're all operating off one system , '' the Allegheny County Democrat said . `` We 're rebooting that very soon . '' Costa said he can not comment on the ongoing investigation or the exact dollar amount demanded Attack.Ransom by the hackers . The caucus has not and will not pay the ransom Attack.Ransom , he said . `` For people who do pay the ransom Attack.Ransom , the likelihood they 'll get the codes they need to undo the encryption is much lower than people talk about , '' he said . `` And there are a number of times it 's happened you do n't hear about . '' Hackers who launch such attacks lock their targets out of their data in an effort to extract a ransom Attack.Ransom for its return . The security firm SonicWall estimated 638 million ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom that cost $ 209 million last year , more than 167 times the 3.8 million attacks Attack.Ransom recorded in 2015 .

The boss of a company held to ransom Attack.Ransom by computer hackers is warning others not to fall victim . Two years ago Stuart Kettell ’ s company Kettell Video Productions was targeted by hackers who encrypted all his files and demanded money Attack.Ransom to decrypt them . Stuart Kettell may be best known for his light hearted charity fund raising challenges but this cyber attack was no joke . The hackers infiltrated computer systems at the Warwick based company . They made it impossible for staff to see any of the company data and demanded Attack.Ransom £1,000 in online currency bitcoins to put matters right .

City employees in Atlanta coming to work Friday morning were told not to turn on their computers and WiFi at the Atlanta airport was turned off due to a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom that hit Attack.Ransom municipal systems on Thursday . As employees walked into city hall for work , they were handed a printed notice telling them to not use their computers until they were cleared by the municipal IT group , the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported . At a news conference Friday afternoon , Atlanta chief operating officer Richard Cox said that the WiFi at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport had been disabled out of `` an abundance of caution . '' The city is still working on mitigating the ransomware and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms did not answer questions from reporters as to whether the attack had ended . `` What we want to make sure of is that we aren ’ t putting a Band-Aid on a gaping wound . We want to make sure that we take the appropriate steps , '' she said . Atlanta doesn ’ t know who is behind the attack , the mayor said . The good news is that while “ this is a massive inconvenience to the city , it is not life and death , ” she said . Police , fire and other vital services are still fully functional , Cox said . The attack hit early Thursday morning . Bottoms has repeatedly told employees they should monitor their bank accounts because city officials don ’ t yet know what information was compromised Attack.Databreach in the attack Attack.Databreach . `` Let 's just assume that if your personal information is housed by the City of Atlanta , whether it be because you are a customer who goes online and pays your bills or any employee or even a retiree , we do n't know the extent , so we just ask that you be vigilant , '' Bottoms said . The ransomware is affecting applications that customers use to pay bills and access court-related information among other things , Bottoms said . The attackers demanded Attack.Ransom the equivalent of $ 51,000 in digital currency to unlock the system . The city is working with the FBI and local law enforcement to investigate the attack , Cox said . While it has been a difficult two days , Atlanta will in the end prevail , he said . `` The city was around before computers were around , said Cox . `` We ’ ll rise from the ashes , '' he added

WannaCry only demanded Attack.Ransom $ 300 from each victim . These hackers extorted Attack.Ransom $ 1 million from one South Korean company . Hackers appear to have pulled off Attack.Ransom a $ 1 million heist with ransomware in South Korea . The ransomware attacked Attack.Ransom more than 153 Linux servers that South Korean web provider Nayana hosted , locking up more than 3,400 websites on June 10 . In Nayana 's first announcement a few days later , it said the hackers demanded Attack.Ransom 550 bitcoins to free up all the servers -- about $ 1.62 million . Four days later , Nayana said it 'd negotiated with the attackers and got the payment reduced Attack.Ransom to 397 bitcoins , or about $ 1 million . This is the single largest-known payout for a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , and it was an attack Attack.Ransom on one company . For comparison , the WannaCry ransomware attacked Attack.Ransom 200,000 computers across 150 countries , and has only pooled $ 127,142 in bitcoins since it surfaced . Ransomware demands Attack.Ransom have risen rapidly over the past year , tripling in price from 2015 to 2016 . But even then , the highest cost of a single ransomware attack Attack.Ransom was $ 28,730 . Nayana agreed to pay Attack.Ransom the ransomware in three installments , and said Saturday it 's already paid Attack.Ransom two-thirds of the $ 1 million demand Attack.Ransom . `` It is very frustrating and difficult , but I am really doing my best and I will do my best to make sure all servers are normalized , '' a Nayana administrator said , according to a Google translation of the blog post . The company is expected to make the final payment Attack.Ransom once all the servers from the first and second payouts Attack.Ransom have been restored . Trend Micro , a cybersecurity research firm , identified the ransomware as Erebus , which targets Linux servers for attacks . It first surfaced in September through web ads , and popped up again in February . `` It 's worth noting that this ransomware is limited in terms of coverage , and is , in fact , heavily concentrated in South Korea , '' Trend Micro researchers said Monday in a blog post . Paying ransomware Attack.Ransom is at the victim 's discretion , but nearly all organizations , including government agencies and security researchers , advise against it .

Cyber criminals took a second swing at Mecklenburg County government on Thursday after officials rejected a demand for money Attack.Ransom following a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom . The follow-up attempts to hold the county hostage over illegally encrypted data came just hours after County Manager Dena Diorio announced she ’ d decided against paying Attack.Ransom a hacker ransom Attack.Ransom . Instead of agreeing to pay Attack.Ransom criminals , she said Wednesday , the county will rebuild its system applications and restore files and data from backups . But by Thursday afternoon , hackers tried to strike again . Diorio sent staff members an email saying , “ I have a new warning for employees. ” As the county ’ s IT staff worked to recover from the first cyberattack , Diorio said , they discovered more attempts to compromise Attack.Databreach computers and data on Thursday . “ To limit the possibility of a new infection , ITS is disabling employees ’ ability to open attachments generated by DropBox and Google Documents , ” she wrote in an email . “ The best advice for now is to limit your use of emails containing attachments , and try to conduct as much business as possible by phone or in person. ” She described the aftermath of the ransomware attack Attack.Ransom as a “ crisis ” and reassured employees they should not feel personally responsible for the incident . The county first learned of the problem earlier this week after an employee opened Attack.Phishing a malicious “ phishing ” email and accessed an attached file that unleashed a widespread problem inside the county ’ s network of computers and information technology . The intent of that ransomware attack Attack.Ransom was to essentially access as many county government files and data servers as possible . Then , the information was encrypted or locked , keeping employees at the county from accessing operating systems and files . The person or people responsible for the infiltration then demanded Attack.Ransom the county pay Attack.Ransom two bitcoins , or about $ 23,000 , in exchange for a release of the locked data . The county refused to pay Attack.Ransom . County officials say they anticipate the recovery time for Mecklenburg County government operations will take days . “ We are open for business , and we are slow , but there ’ s no indication of any data loss Attack.Databreach or that personal information was compromised Attack.Databreach , ” Diorio said . Diorio said third-party security experts believe the attack Attack.Ransom earlier this week by a new strain of ransomware called LockCrypt originated from Iran or Ukraine . Forty-eight of about 500 county computer servers were affected .

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana hospital said it paid Attack.Ransom a $ 50,000 ransom Attack.Ransom to hackers who hijacked patient data . The ransomware attack Attack.Ransom accessed the computers of Hancock Health in Greenfield through an outside vendor 's account Thursday . It quickly infected the system by locking out data and changing the names of more than 1,400 files to `` I 'm sorry . '' The virus demanded Attack.Ransom four bitcoins in exchange for unlocking the data , which included patient medical records and company emails . The hospital paid Attack.Ransom the amount , about $ 50,000 at the time , early Saturday morning , said Rob Matt , senior vice president and chief strategy officer . `` It was n't an easy decision , '' Matt said . `` When you weigh the cost of delivering high-quality care ... versus not paying and bearing the consequences of a new system . '' The data started unlocking soon after the money was transferred , Matt said . `` The amount of the ransom Attack.Ransom was reasonable in respect to the cost of continuing down time and not being able to care for patients , '' Matt said . Hancock Health includes about two dozen health care facilities , including Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield , about 15 miles east of Indianapolis . The health system said in a news release that patient data was not compromised Attack.Databreach . Life support and other critical hospital services were not affected , and patient safety was never at risk . Ransomware is a growing digital extortion technique that affected tens of thousands of Americans in 2016 , USA TODAY reported . Criminals use various phishing methods Attack.Phishing through emails or bogus links to infect victims with malicious software . The virus infects the computer network by encrypting files or locking down the entire system . Victims log on and receive a message telling them the files have been hijacked and to get the files back they will have to pay Attack.Ransom . Hospitals are a frequent target of these attacks . In May , a ransomware virus affected more than 200,000 victims in 150 countries , including more than 20 % of hospitals in the United Kingdom . That attack was later traced to North Korea . Hancock Health said it worked with the FBI and hired an Indianapolis cybersecurity expert for advice on how to respond to the attack . The systems were back Monday after paying the ransom Attack.Ransom . “ We were in a very precarious situation at the time of the attack , '' Hancock Health CEO Steve Long said in a statement . `` With the ice and snowstorm at hand , coupled with the one of the worst flu seasons in memory , we wanted to recover our systems in the quickest way possible . '' Hospital officials could have retrieved back up files , but Long said they feared restoring the hijacked data would take too long . `` We made the deliberate decision , ” Long said , `` to pay the ransom Attack.Ransom to expedite our return to full operations . ''

Nearly a week after it became the target of one of the largest ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom to date , the City of Atlanta has made progress toward recovery , but it is still far from business as usual . Hackers encrypted many of the city government 's vital data and computer systems . The ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , which Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms characterized as `` a hostage situation , '' forced the city to shut down municipal courts and even prevented residents from paying bills online . The city has been unable to issue warrants , and in many cases city employees have had to fill out forms and reports by hand . The hackers demanded Attack.Ransom that officials pay a ransom Attack.Ransom of US $ 51,000 to be sent to a bitcoin wallet . Threat researchers from Dell-owned Secureworks , which is based in Atlanta , have been working to help the city recover from the attack . The security firm identified the assailants as the SamSam hacking group , The New York Times reported on Thursday . That organization has been known for similar ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom ; it typically makes ransom demands Attack.Ransom of $ 50,000 or more , usually payable only with bitcoin . Secureworks has been working with the city 's incident response team as well as the FBI , the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Secret Service . In addition , a number of independent experts , including researchers from Georgia Tech , have been called in to determine how the attack occurred and help strategize to prevent another such attack . As of Thursday , the city 's Department of Information Management , which first discovered the attack on March 21 , said that it had found no evidence that customer or employee data was compromised Attack.Databreach . It nevertheless encouraged everyone to take precautionary measures , including the monitoring of personal accounts and protecting personal information .

Ticketfly has been grounded . After a `` series of recent issues , '' the online ticketing service took down all its websites Thursday , saying it was `` the target of a cyber incident . '' `` Out of an abundance of caution , we have taken all Ticketfly systems temporarily offline as we continue to look into the issue , '' the company said across its many properties . Ticketfly did n't comment on whether any user information , such as credit card data , had been stolen Attack.Databreach in the cyberattack Attack.Databreach . `` We realize the gravity of this decision , but the security of client and customer data is our top priority , '' a Ticketfly spokeswoman said in an email . The company 's pages have been down since 6 a.m . ET . A hacker who goes by `` IShAkDz '' has taken credit for the attack . Before Ticketfly took down its websites , the hacker left a taunting message across the service 's website : `` Your security down , I 'm not sorry . Next time I will publish Attack.Databreach database . '' The hacker , who also left an e-mail address , appeared to have a database with more than 4,000 spreadsheets holding people 's information , including email addresses , phone numbers , names and addresses . In an email , the attacker told CNET that he or she contacted TicketFly about the potential exploit multiple times , but did n't hear back . The attacker demanded Attack.Ransom TicketFly pay Attack.Ransom 1 bitcoin to fix the cyberattack Attack.Ransom , which is currently worth $ 7,544 . The Ticketfly spokeswoman did n't comment on the alleged hacker . Eventbrite , which owns Ticketfly , does n't have any issues on its website .

Six weeks after ransomware forced Colorado Department of Transportation ’ s back-end operations offline , the agency is back to 80 percent functionality — at an estimated cost of up to $ 1.5 million , according to the state . Colorado officials said they never caved to the attacker ’ s demands to pay bitcoin Attack.Ransom in order to recover encrypted computer files . But clearing each computer took time and additional resources — including the Colorado National Guard — to investigate , contain and recover . “ We were able to recover from the SamSam attack relatively quickly due to our robust backup plan and our segmentation strategies , ” Brandi Simmons , a spokesperson for Colorado ’ s Office of Information Technology , said in an email . “ We are still capturing costs associated with the incident , but our estimate is between $ 1M and $ 1.5M. ” What started with a core team of 25 IT employees , Simmons said , ballooned to 150 “ during the peak of the incident ” — March 2-9 . She added that others included CDOT , the FBI , state emergency operations and private companies . The million-dollar estimate includes only overtime pay and other unexpected costs . The state ’ s new backup system prevented data loss , but personal data on employees ’ computers may not be recovered . The cyberattack started around Feb 21 when a variant of the SamSam ransomware hijacked CDOT computer files . CDOT shut down more than 2,000 computers . Its employees had to use personal devices to check email . The state did not share the value of bitcoin that attackers demanded Attack.Ransom . Elsewhere , SamSam attacked the city of Atlanta , debilitating computer systems that residents used to pay traffic tickets , report potholes and access Wi-Fi at the airport . The city hasn ’ t issued a public update since March 30 , and a city spokesman said Thursday there is nothing new to share . Attackers demanded Attack.Ransom $ 51,000 worth of bitcoin . Asked whether Atlanta has paid the ransom Attack.Ransom , spokeswoman Anne Torres said : “ Unfortunately , we can not comment further on the ransom Attack.Ransom . ” The rise of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom has caused some to wonder whether it ’ s worth paying to avoid business outages — Hancock Health in Indiana paid Attack.Ransom $ 55,000 to get its files back . Dan Likarish , a computer professor at Denver ’ s Regis University , said there ’ s still a good reason not to do it . “ If you pay the ransom Attack.Ransom , you ’ re supporting the criminal , ” said Likarish , adding there ’ s also no guarantee the attacker will return computer files intact . “ The weasel answer ? It ’ s a risk mitigation . That ’ s the way we label ourselves . We talk to upper management , present the business case that we ’ ve identified the problem , let ’ s just pay . That ’ s what a lot of hospitals have done . It ’ s not unusual to pay for the key and go about your business . It depends on how sophisticated your security staff is . If you don ’ t have it , what do you do ? You ’ ve got to keep things running. ” Likarish said he was able to help with efforts to contain the CDOT attack and was in awe at how the state ’ s IT office swooped in and took command . While IT staff had already updated its own computer operations , not every state agency is on the same system , including CDOT . “ People are listening to them now , ” Likarish said .

Six weeks after ransomware forced Colorado Department of Transportation ’ s back-end operations offline , the agency is back to 80 percent functionality — at an estimated cost of up to $ 1.5 million , according to the state . Colorado officials said they never caved to the attacker ’ s demands to pay bitcoin Attack.Ransom in order to recover encrypted computer files . But clearing each computer took time and additional resources — including the Colorado National Guard — to investigate , contain and recover . “ We were able to recover from the SamSam attack relatively quickly due to our robust backup plan and our segmentation strategies , ” Brandi Simmons , a spokesperson for Colorado ’ s Office of Information Technology , said in an email . “ We are still capturing costs associated with the incident , but our estimate is between $ 1M and $ 1.5M. ” What started with a core team of 25 IT employees , Simmons said , ballooned to 150 “ during the peak of the incident ” — March 2-9 . She added that others included CDOT , the FBI , state emergency operations and private companies . The million-dollar estimate includes only overtime pay and other unexpected costs . The state ’ s new backup system prevented data loss , but personal data on employees ’ computers may not be recovered . The cyberattack started around Feb 21 when a variant of the SamSam ransomware hijacked CDOT computer files . CDOT shut down more than 2,000 computers . Its employees had to use personal devices to check email . The state did not share the value of bitcoin that attackers demanded Attack.Ransom . Elsewhere , SamSam attacked the city of Atlanta , debilitating computer systems that residents used to pay traffic tickets , report potholes and access Wi-Fi at the airport . The city hasn ’ t issued a public update since March 30 , and a city spokesman said Thursday there is nothing new to share . Attackers demanded Attack.Ransom $ 51,000 worth of bitcoin . Asked whether Atlanta has paid the ransom Attack.Ransom , spokeswoman Anne Torres said : “ Unfortunately , we can not comment further on the ransom Attack.Ransom . ” The rise of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom has caused some to wonder whether it ’ s worth paying to avoid business outages — Hancock Health in Indiana paid Attack.Ransom $ 55,000 to get its files back . Dan Likarish , a computer professor at Denver ’ s Regis University , said there ’ s still a good reason not to do it . “ If you pay the ransom Attack.Ransom , you ’ re supporting the criminal , ” said Likarish , adding there ’ s also no guarantee the attacker will return computer files intact . “ The weasel answer ? It ’ s a risk mitigation . That ’ s the way we label ourselves . We talk to upper management , present the business case that we ’ ve identified the problem , let ’ s just pay . That ’ s what a lot of hospitals have done . It ’ s not unusual to pay for the key and go about your business . It depends on how sophisticated your security staff is . If you don ’ t have it , what do you do ? You ’ ve got to keep things running. ” Likarish said he was able to help with efforts to contain the CDOT attack and was in awe at how the state ’ s IT office swooped in and took command . While IT staff had already updated its own computer operations , not every state agency is on the same system , including CDOT . “ People are listening to them now , ” Likarish said .

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 .

A malicious website initially set up to extort Attack.Ransom visitors to pay a cryptocurrency ransom Attack.Ransom has changed its course . Instead of demanding payment Attack.Ransom via Bitcoin , Ethereum , Bitcoin Cash or Litecoin in exchange for not leaking your password on the internet , the site now hijacks your computer ’ s processing power to mine cryptocurrency in the background . Designed as a copy of the Have I Been Pwned attack , the site began by asking users to enter their emails to see if their password has been compromised Attack.Databreach . Unfortunately , if your password was breached Attack.Databreach , the site demanded Attack.Ransom a “ donation ” of $ 10 by cryptocurrency to not publish your password in plain text on the web . Up to 1.4 billion passwords may have been breached Attack.Databreach , but it ’ s unclear how accurate that figure is . However , because it may be easier — and safer — to change your password than pay the ransom Attack.Ransom , as The Next Web noted , the site shifted its focus from demanding ransomware payments Attack.Ransom to taking over your PC ’ s processing power to mine for cryptocurrency in the background . The publication also confirmed that the malicious site did “ have a database with legitimate passwords , ” but that not all compromised passwords were stored in plain text . The Next Web did not reveal the site ’ s address in its report , citing security reasons , but noted that it doesn ’ t appear that any user had made payment . This is the latest ransomware in recent months that demand Attack.Ransom cryptocurrency as a form of payment . Prior to this incident Attack.Ransom , Thanatos encrypted files on a user ’ s PC by hijacking it using a brute force method . If you want to regain access to those files , you had to send payment Attack.Ransom via cryptocurrency to get a key to decrypt your files . However , at the time , there didn ’ t appear to be a proper decryption key even if you paid . According to a recent Google report , extortionists made out with $ 25 million in just two years , and cryptocurrency was the preferred way to get paid Attack.Ransom . Hackers are also changing the game when it comes to data theft Attack.Databreach . Rather than leaking Attack.Databreach the information to the dark markets , an IBM X-Force Intelligence Index report revealed that hackers prefer to hold files hostage in exchange for a ransom payment Attack.Ransom .

LabCorp experienced a breach this past weekend , which it nows says was a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom . The intrusion has also prompted concerns that patient data may have also been stolen Attack.Databreach . One of the biggest clinical lab testing companies in the world , LabCorp , was hit Attack.Ransom with a `` new variant of ransomware '' over the weekend . `` LabCorp promptly took certain systems offline as a part of its comprehensive response to contain and remove the ransomware from its system , '' the company told PCMag in an email . `` We are working to restore additional systems and functions over the next several days . '' LabCorp declined to say what variant of ransomware was used . But according to The Wall Street Journal , the company was hit Attack.Ransom with a strain known as SamSam . In March , the same strain attacked Attack.Ransom the city of Atlanta 's IT network . Like other ransomware variants , SamSam will effectively lock down a computer , encrypting all the files inside , and then demand Attack.Ransom the victim pay up Attack.Ransom to free the system . In the Atlanta attack Attack.Ransom , the anonymous hackers demanded Attack.Ransom $ 51,000 , which the city government reportedly refused to pay Attack.Ransom . How much the hackers are demanding Attack.Ransom from LabCorp is n't clear ; the company declined to answer further questions about the attack Attack.Ransom or if it will pay the ransom Attack.Ransom . The lab testing provider first reported the breach on Monday , initially describing it as `` suspicious activity '' on the company 's IT systems that relate to healthcare diagnostics . This prompted fears that patient data may have been stolen Attack.Databreach . The North Carolina-based company processes more than 2.5 million lab tests per week and has over 1,900 patient centers across the US . `` LabCorp also has connections to most of the hospitals and other clinics in the United States , '' Pravin Kothari , CEO of cybersecurity firm CipherCloud , said in an email . `` All of this presents , at some point , perhaps an increased risk of cyber attacks propagating and moving through this expanded ecosystem . '' On Thursday , LabCorp issued a new statement and said the attack Attack.Ransom was a ransomware strain . At this point , the company has found `` no evidence of theft Attack.Databreach or misuse of data , '' but it 's continuing to investigate . `` As part of our in-depth and ongoing investigation into this incident , LabCorp has engaged outside security experts and is working with authorities , including law enforcement , '' the company added .

Ransomware creators have attacked Attack.Ransom Malaysian media giant Media Prima Bhd and are demanding Attack.Ransom bitcoins before they can allow access to the company ’ s compromised computer systems . According to The Edge Markets , which initially broke the news , the hackers struck on November 8 consequently denying the company ’ s employees access to the email system . The hackers are now demanding Attack.Ransom 1,000 bitcoins , translating to approximately US $ 6.3 million at current market prices , to reauthorize access . Media Prima did not , however , confirm the attack Attack.Ransom though sources indicated that the publicly listed company would not be paying the ransom Attack.Ransom . Sources also told The Edge Markets that with access to the office email denied , the media giant had migrated to G Suite , a Google product hosted offsite . It was also not immediately clear whether the company which owns four TV stations , four radio stations and three national newspapers among other media assets had lodged a complaint with the police . Lucrative Business While extortionists have been targeting individuals in the recent past especially by threatening to reveal the porn-viewing habits of their victims , it has generally been more lucrative to target businesses . According to a report by cybersecurity firm Sophos , the SamSam ransomware , which has mostly targeted business enterprises and public bodies , has , for instance , generated its creators bitcoin worth more than US $ 6 million since it emerged three years ago . Some of the high-profile victims of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom in the recent past have included the Port of San Diego . While the Californian port did not reveal the amount that the hackers demanded Attack.Ransom , it was serious enough that it got the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations , the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard involved . “ As previously stated , the investigation has detected that ransomware was used in this attack . The Port can also now confirm that the ransom note requested payment Attack.Ransom in Bitcoin , although the amount that was requested Attack.Ransom is not being disclosed , ” a statement from the Port of San Diego read , as CCN reported at the time . Can ’ t Pay , Won ’ t Pay Another high-profile target of ransomware in the recent past was the Professional Golfers Association ( PGA ) of America . In this case , the hackers encrypted critical files denying access to them just as the golfing body was holding a PGA Championship event as well as preparing for the Ryder Cup .

Two Iranian men already indicted in New Jersey in connection with a broad cybercrime and extortion scheme targeting government agencies , cities and businesses now face new federal charges in Georgia related to a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom that caused havoc for the city of Atlanta earlier this year . A federal grand jury in Atlanta returned an indictment Tuesday accusing Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act , federal prosecutors said in a news release Wednesday . The New Jersey indictment against the pair was filed last month on broad conspiracy charges that included the Atlanta cyberattack . Byung “ BJay ” Pak , the U.S. attorney in Atlanta , said in a news release that the Atlanta indictment was sought in coordination with the earlier indictment and seeks to ensure that “ those responsible for the attacks face justice here as well. ” The Atlanta indictment accuses the two men of launching a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom against Atlanta that encrypted vital city computer systems . The attack significantly disrupted city operations and caused millions of dollars in losses , prosecutors said . The Department of Justice has said the two men remain fugitives and are believed to be in Iran , though they are not believed to be connected to the Iranian government . No attorney was listed for either man in online court records . In the Atlanta attack Attack.Ransom , a ransomware known as SamSam was used to infect about 3,789 computers belonging to the city , prosecutors said . The ransomware encrypted the files on the computers and showed a ransom note demanding payment Attack.Ransom for a decryption key . The note demanded Attack.Ransom 0.8 bitcoin per affected computer or six bitcoin to decrypt all affected computers . Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in the days after the ransomware attack Attack.Ransom that the ransom demand Attack.Ransom was equivalent to $ 51,000 . The ransom note provided a bitcoin address to pay the ransom Attack.Ransom and a website accessible only on the dark web , where it said the city could retrieve the decryption key , prosecutors said . The decryption key became inaccessible shortly after the attack , and the city didn ’ t pay the ransom Attack.Ransom , prosecutors said . The New Jersey indictment filed Nov 27 accuses the two men of creating the SamSam ransomware and says it was used to encrypt the computers of more than 200 victims , including government agencies , cities and businesses . Among the other victims are the city of Newark , New Jersey , the Colorado Department of Transportation , the Port of San Diego and six health care companies across the U.S. , according to the Justice Department . The New Jersey charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers . The overall scheme allowed the hackers to make about $ 6 million and caused the victims to lose more than $ 30 million , prosecutors said .

E-Sports Entertainment Association ( ESEA ) , one of the largest competitive video gaming communities on the planet , was hacked last December . As a result , a database containing 1.5 million player profiles was compromised . On Sunday , ESEA posted a message to Twitter , reminding players of the warning issued on December 30 , 2016 , three days after they were informed of the hack . Sunday ’ s message said the leak of player information Attack.Databreach was expected , but they ’ ve not confirmed if the leaked records Attack.Databreach came from their systems . Late Saturday evening , breach notification service LeakedSource announced the addition of 1,503,707 ESEA records to their database . When asked for additional information by Salted Hash , a LeakedSource spokesperson shared the database schema , as well as sample records pulled at random from the database . Learn about top security certifications : Who they 're for , what they cost , and which you need . However , in all , there are more than 90 fields associated with a given player record in the ESEA database . While the passwords are safe , the other data points in the leaked records could be used to construct a number of socially-based attacks , including Phishing Attack.Phishing . Players on Reddit have confirmed their information was discovered in the leaked data . A similar confirmation was made Twitch ’ s Jimmy Whisenhunt on Twitter . The LeakedSource spokesperson said that the ESEA hack was part of a ransom scheme Attack.Ransom , as the hacker responsible demanded Attack.Ransom $ 50,000 in payment Attack.Ransom . In exchange for meeting their demands , the hacker would keep silent about the ESEA hack and help the organization address the security flaw that made it possible . In their previous notification , ESEA said they learned about the incident Attack.Databreach on December 27 , but make no mention of any related extortion attempts Attack.Ransom . The organization reset passwords , multi-factor authentication tokens , and security questions as part of their recovery efforts . We ’ ve reached out to confirm the extortion attempt Attack.Ransom claims made by the hacker , as well as the total count for players affected by the data breach Attack.Databreach . In an emailed statement , a spokesperson for ESL Gaming ( parent company to Turtle Entertainment ) confirmed that the hacker did in fact attempt to extort money Attack.Ransom , but the sum demanded Attack.Ransom was `` substantially higher '' than the $ 50,000 previously mentioned . The company refused to give into the extortion demands Attack.Ransom , and went public with details before the hacker could publish anything . The statement also confirms the affected user count of 1.5 million , and stressed the point that ESEA passwords were hashed with bcrypt . When it comes to the profile fields , where more than 90 data points are listed , ESL Gaming says those are optional data points for profile settings . `` We take the security and integrity of customer details very seriously and we are doing everything in our power to investigate this incident , establish precisely what has been taken , and make changes to our systems to mitigate any further breaches . The authorities ( FBI ) were also informed and we will do everything possible to facilitate the investigation of this attack , '' the message from ESL Gaming concluded . `` Based on the proof provided to us by the threat actor of possession Attack.Databreach of the stolen data , we were able to identify the scope of the data that was accessed Attack.Databreach . While the primary concern and focus was on personal data , some of ESEA ’ s internal infrastructure including configuration settings of game server hardware specifications , as well as game server IPs was also accessible Attack.Databreach . Due to the ongoing investigation , we prioritized customer user data first , '' the statement explains . In the days that followed that initial contact , ESEA worked to secure their systems , and the hacker kept making demands . On January 7 , ESEA learned the hacker also exfiltrated Attack.Databreach intellectual property from the compromised servers