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Ransomware Attack Paralyses St Louis Libraries as Hackers Demand Bitcoins

posted by on Wednesday January 25 2017, @09:51AM   Printer-friendly
from the we-don't-negotiate-with-terrorists dept.

Fnord666 writes:

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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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Wednesday January 25 2017, @04:42PM

    by Scruffy Beard 2 (6030) on Wednesday January 25 2017, @04:42PM (#458522)

    If it is not off-line, off-site, and verified, it is not a back-up.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @11:36PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @11:36PM (#458725)

    Should be in all-caps and bold as well.

    If your copy of your stuff can't survive a fire, flood, burglary, or hack, what you have is NOT a backup.

    That the articles about this event doesn't include the names of the IT personnel responsible for the difficult-to-restore software/data infrastructure is just wrong.
    This was fundamental incompetence.

    Those chumps should be fired (and should never have been hired in the first place) and their names should be in the zeitgeist to alert any potential employers.

    Those turkeys should have jobs that involve no more responsibility/skills than one that includes asking the question "Do you want fries with that?"

    -- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]