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Apparently it's the library's turn to pay a fine.
Libraries in St Louis have been bought to a standstill after computers in all the city's libraries were infected with ransomware, a particularly virulent form of computer virus used to extort money from victims.
Hackers are demanding $35,000 (£28,000) to restore the system after the cyberattack, which affected 700 computers across the Missouri city's 16 public libraries. The hackers demanded the money in electronic currency bitcoin, but, as CNN reports, the authority has refused to pay for a code that would unlock the machines.
As a result, the library authority has said it will wipe its entire computer system and rebuild it from scratch, a solution that may take weeks.
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Ransomware Attack Paralyses St Louis Libraries as Hackers Demand Bitcoins
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Hey, wait a minute!! I want a divorce!! ... you're not Clint Eastwood!!
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Wednesday January 25 2017, @12:12PM
and followed the money.
By the way, I don't understand why bitcoins can't be tracked. By design they're all unique, so I guess it should be possible to create a list of "compromised serial numbers". Any bitcoins that was used to pay a ransom should be flagged as compromised, so they can't be spent anywhere. And anyone trying to spend them should get a visit from authorities.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Unixnut on Wednesday January 25 2017, @12:44PM
> By the way, I don't understand why bitcoins can't be tracked.
They can be tracked. In fact they can be tracked by anybody on earth, as the ledger is public (visible to all). You can look at the bitcoin blockchain right now and see exactly from which wallet to which wallet every single bitcoin flows.
Hell, there are tons of sites to show you visually. Here is one with a global map of (near) real time transactions: http://bitcointicker.co/transactions/ [bitcointicker.co]
The problem is associating that wallet (Which is just a public key in essence) with the private key (the bit stored on your computer in your wallet.dat or equivalent), and from there, associating the wallet with an actual human. That is where it gets tricky.
Bitcoins power is decoupling the identity of the holder from the account, and from there giving anonymity to users and public disclosure to the transactions so everyone can verify the ledger.
(Score: 2) by shipofgold on Wednesday January 25 2017, @01:27PM
The problem is "who" gets to create that list of compromised serial numbers and "who" will actually honor them?
I am guessing that it is a lot easier to launder "compromised" bitcoins as there will always be people who will accept them for some good or services (perhaps at a discount). Attaching the bitcoin to a real person is the hardest part....especially across borders.
In this case the sum of $35K probably wouldn't even motivate most law enforcement to look at it even if you could prove it was currently located in their jurisdiction.
I could also imagine a market in extortion by threatening to report your bitcoin as compromised.
Finally, even if your bitcoin are marked "compromised" after you pay a ransom, you won't get them back.