It's been reported that a ransomware attack struck the St. Louis Public Library affecting 700 computers at 16 library locations from working properly and preventing the checking out of books. According to reports, hackers had managed to infect the public library's systems late Wednesday or early Thursday.
CNN reported that the hackers behind the cyber attack were asking $35,000 in Bitcoin for the decryption of files scrambled by the crypto-malware. Intel Security also confirmed that these kinds of attacks are rising in alarming numbers these days. In the past, ransomware attacks have damaged several hospitals and medical centers, so it's easy to picture out from this incident of how a malware attack can cause problems to the general public.
Authorities have refused to pay for a code that would unlock the machines. This means that library authorities need to delete its entire computer system and rebuild again from scratch, a solution that may take weeks to complete.
Library spokesperson, Jen Hatton said: "The good news is, St. Louis Public Library does not store patron or staff personal information - or financial information on our server. No data from the public has been compromised in any way." The other good news is that the St. Louis Library had a backup, which means that they haven't been forced into a corner to pay the ransom that the hackers were demanding.
Waller McGuire, executive director of St. Louis libraries said on Tuesday that all services were being restored. Technical staffs at the libraries across the St Louis had been working day and night and through the weekend to regain access to the affected servers, using the library's backup system to restore them.
Library official already informed the FBI about the attack for investigation. The system also is believed to have been infected through a centralized computer server, and even staff emails have been frozen by the virus.
Ransomware has become a powerful weapon which criminals use to extort money from corporations, public authorities and institutions and rich people. FBI stated that an estimated $209 million was conned out of victims on the first three months of 2016. FBI warned that similar attacks could happen in the future as hackers become more knowledgeable in their attempt to dupe computer users.
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