Over the last three days, four different ransomware infections have been reported. Each of which targeting public departments and organizations.
WannaCry Takes Down Fire and Police Departments
According to US News, two emergency systems in Tennessee were infected with ransomware. The Murfreesboro Police and Fire Departments were hit, leaving their systems completely paralyzed. It is unclear how much data was lost during the attack; however, officials believe the ransomware has been present on the systems since May. However, it wasn’t until recently that the public municipalities discovered the malware. It is believed the ransomware variant used to attack the systems was WannaCry, the malware responsible for the first global ransomware attack.
Indiana Becomes Another Victim
Brownsburg Public Library and the Marion fairgrounds were also hit with a ransomware attack. The infections were found in early July, and the exact variant is unknown. The library did confirm they paid the ransom demand to get their files back. The amount they paid was not disclosed. According to CBS 4 of Indianapolis, the library is still working to get their systems fully functional. The fairgrounds have no intention to pay the ransom demand.
Ransomware Attacks of 2017
To see a full list of ransomware attacks that have taken place in 2017, you can click here. We have also created a ransomware map, see below, of the ransomware attacks that have taken place in the U.S.
