VILLAGE OF NASHOTAH - The village recently paid Attack.Ransom an unidentified hacker a $ 2,000 ransom Attack.Ransom to decrypt its computer system after a hack Attack.Databreach in late November that left some residents ' personal information exposed Attack.Databreach . Village President Richard Lartz said Thursday , Dec 7 , that the hack `` totally encrypted '' Nashotah 's computer files , making them inaccessible to staff . He said the only information that was exposed Attack.Databreach during the breach Attack.Databreach were citizens ' names and driver 's license numbers , and possibly their addresses . Social Security numbers and other sensitive information was not compromised Attack.Databreach . `` The only information that got out Attack.Databreach was voter rolls , '' Lartz said , emphasizing that neither he nor village staff know whether that information was used or dispersed Attack.Databreach by the hacker .

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 . ''

The Onslow Water and Sewer Authority 's internal computer system , including servers and personal computers , was hit by a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom Saturday . The utility said customer information was not compromised Attack.Databreach in the attack Attack.Databreach , but many of databases will have to be recreated in their entirety . OWNASA said it is coordinating with the FBI , the Department of Homeland Security , the state of North Carolina , and several technology security companies in response to the attack . The safety of the public ’ s water supply and the area ’ s environment are not in danger , the utility said . ONWASA began experiencing persistent virus attacks from a polymorphic malware known as EMOTET on October 4 . The virus was thought to be under control , but when it persisted ONWASA brought in outside security specialists . The specialist continued to work the problem with ONWASA Information Technology ( IT ) staff . At what ONWASA officials said may have been a timed event , the malware launched a sophisticated virus known as RYUK at 3 a.m. on Saturday . An ONWASA IT staffer saw the attack and immediately disconnected ONWASA from the internet . However , the crypto-virus spread quickly along the network , encrypting databases and files . The attack is similar in nature to those experienced by Atlanta , Georgia and Mecklenburg County . lONWASA said it had mulitple layers of computer protection in place , including firewalls and malware/anti-virus software . The defenses of the computer systems at the main office were penetrated . ONWASA has received one email from the cybercriminals , who it said may be based in a foreign country . The email is consistent with ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom of other governments and corporations . OWNASA officials said ransom monies “ would be used to fund criminal , and perhaps terrorist activities in other countries . Furthermore , there is no expectation that payment of a ransom Attack.Ransom would forestall repeat attacks . ONWASA will not negotiate with criminals nor bow to their demands . The FBI agrees that ransoms should not be paid Attack.Ransom . ONWASA will undertake the painstaking process of rebuilding its databases and computer systems from the ground up. ” The lack of computing ability will affect the timeliness of service from ONWASA for several weeks to come . Initially , the utility will operate manually at all plant and office locations . Water and wastewater service to homes and businesses will not be interrupted , the utility said . Customers may continue to make credit card payments by phone , at ONWASA 's kiosk locations ( by check , cash , or credit card ) , and in person at the main office at 228 Georgetown Road , Jacksonville . Satellite Offices in Holly Ridge , Swansboro , and Richlands have the capability of processing credit card payments by phone and very limited other services . Service orders , account creation , connections , disconnections , development review , backflow program , engineering , and human resources will utilize manual processes until the computer systems are restored . While phone service remains , email service has been interrupted for most of the utility . ONWASA said a team of local , state , and federal agencies are cooperating to restore the utility and bring the criminals to justice .

In the wake of Hurricane Florence disaster , ONWASA , a water utility company has been specifically targeted by cyber criminals . ONWASA provides water and sewer service to all of Onslow County except Jacksonville residents . According to a press release , ONWASA 's internal computer system , including servers and personal computers , have been subjected to a sophisticated ransomware attack Attack.Ransom . The attack has left the utility with limited computer capabilities . CEO Jeffrey Hudson said customer information was not compromised Attack.Databreach in the attack Attack.Databreach . However , many other databases must be recreated in their entirety . ONWASA is working with the FBI , the Department of Homeland Security , the state of North Carolina and several technology security companies . They are also receiving help from N.C . Senator Harry Brown and N.C . Senator Thom Tillis . Hudson said he believes the attack was a targeted one because the hackers chose a local government that has recently been ransacked by a natural disaster . The hackers struck at 3 a.m. on Saturday -- a time Hudson says was their most vulnerable . The attack is similar in nature to the one experienced in Mecklenburg County last year . Hudson said the damage the attack caused could take weeks or even months to fix . According to ONWASA , the company had multiple layers of computer protection in place , including firewalls and malware/anti-virus software . The defenses of the computer systems at the main office were penetrated . ONWASA has received one email from the cyber criminals , who may be based in a foreign country . The email is consistent with ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom of other governments and corporations . Ransom monies would be used to fund criminal , and perhaps terrorist activities in other countries . There is no expectation that a ransom payment Attack.Ransom would stop future attacks . The cyber attackers are demanding payment Attack.Ransom to decrypt everything that was stolen . ONWASA said it will not `` negotiate with criminals nor bow to their demands Attack.Ransom . '' Instead , ONWASA will rebuild its databases and computer systems from the ground up .