Baltimore is the latest U.S. city to fall prey to a virulent strain of ransomware attacks targeting the public sector.
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The city that reads, Baltimore, is only the latest U.S. city to fall prey to a crippling ransomware attack. This time, the attackers appear to have leveraged a new ransomware variant called RobbinHood, which crept under firewalls crippling key city systems. In all, the attackers demanded a ransom payable in 13 bitcoin ($103,000 at today’s exchange rate), showing how the advent of cryptocurrencies has given cyber criminals added cover, although payments to digital wallets, particularly in bitcoin are traceable to individual wallets, even at the micropayment level. Baltimore’s case, like Atlanta before it, demonstrates how countless cities, communities and public sector entities are squarely in the crosshairs of cyber threats and proving to be easy prey at that.
Cities and the public sector more generally may not be the most lucrative ransomware targets, where the average ransom demand is around $116,000 for publicly disclosed ransoms. Moreover, cities are at least asserting publicly that they will not pay. Nevertheless, they…
