Town In Canada Meets Hackers Demands With Bitcoin Ransom

In the Ontario province of Canada, holds the town of Midland which has a population of more than 16,000 people and has recently had its computer systems hacked and infected with ransom malware. The town of Midland has come to conclusion that they are going to meet the hackers wants and pay them (as per their demands) in Bitcoin, in order to get the computer system up and running again. The attack on the towns computer systems left the town with ineffective computers for around 48 hours which ruined the processing of payments, issuance of permits, email services, marriage applications and reloading of transit cards. On the bright side, critical services like the fire department or ambulance services were not affected. To facilitate decryption, the hackers have been demanding that the ransom is to be paid in Bitcoin. As per their demands, the town has started the process of paying the uncertain amount of Bitcoin to the ransomers in order to receive the decryption keys. A media release from the Midland Town Council stated:

“Under the guidance of cyber security experts, we have initiated the process to pay the ransom in exchange for the decryption keys. Although no ideal, it is in our interest to bring the system back online as quickly as possible. The town had previously secured an insurance policy to cover such circumstances. Decryption efforts are underway.”

The Professional Golfers Association of America doesn’t agree with the decision made by Midland Town Council to meet the demands of the hackers, since they had similar malware put into their systems earlier last month. CCN reported on this saying:

“We exclusively have decryption software for your situation. No decryption software is available in the public.”

The town isn’t the only one which would prefer to pay up so they can get their systems up and running again. Many victims of cyber hacking have met the demands of the hackers. What are your thoughts? Do you agree with Midland Town Council in coughing up the money for the hackers? Let us know down in the comments!