Wisconsin Village Pays Thousands After Ransomware Infects Files
The Village of Nashotah, located in Wisconsin, is recovering from a recent ransomware attack. Ransomware, the malicious software the locks files and then sends victims a payment demand to unlock the files, has been an increasingly popular tool for cyber criminals. The specific ransomware variant that took down the network for Nashotah is unclear. However, it has been reported that officials did pay the ransom demand of $2,000 to recover the files. The ransom payment was made in bitcoin.
Officials believe the locked data was never used maliciously, or stolen to be sold on the dark web. However, because the information encrypted included voter data, there were some concerns of voter security state-wide. Fortunately, the Village of Nashotah does not have access to the state’s voter registration system, therefore voter security outside of Nashotah was not compromised.
Other Ransomware Attacks
To see a full list of ransomware attacks that have taken place this year, you can click here. We have also created a map, see below, of the ransomware attacks that have taken place in the U.S.
