Cyber Attack Hits South Dakota Town
The first publicized ransomware attack appears to have taken place in the small town of Belle Fourche, South Dakota. On January 4th, officials reported two of Belle Fourche’s city hall computers were inoperable after ransomware had infiltrated the system. Neither the ransomware variant, nor the ransom demands have been released. Although, it has been reported the ransom demands were not paid. Instead the Belle Fourche city’s IT department was able to restore the devices using backup files.
This is the second malware infection the city has faced over the last month. In December, city residents received malicious emails allegedly from the city office claiming they had an overdue statement. The city denies ever sending this correspondence. It is unclear how many citizens opened this email, or what kind of malware then riddled their systems.
Other Ransomware Attacks
We have created a map, see below, of the ransomware attacks that have taken place in the U.S.
