Maine Cops Cave to Hacker Ransom Demands
Government (U.S.) // Maine, United States
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, along with four towns sharing the same computer system, wired $300 to a crook after being told malware that already had frozen computers would wipe all files clean.
The creator of the virus gave the sheriff’s office a code to unlock the computer system after the money was received, according to WCSH-TV. The county paid in bitcoins.
“We needed our programs to get back online,” said Damariscotta Police Chief Ron Young. “That was a choice we all discussed and took to get back online to get our information.”
The FBI tracked the payment to a Swiss bank account.
The Houlton Police Department, also located in Maine, was hit with a similar virus earlier in April and also paid the attacker to regain system access.