Hamilton refuses to pay hackers 'huge' ransom in wake of cyberattack
Hamilton refuses to pay hackers 'huge' ransom in wake of cyberattack
The City of Hamilton has refused to pay a ransom to hackers who launched a cyberattack against the city nearly three weeks ago.
To stop hackers all places like cities, hospitals, corps, etc should legally be forced to have a proper backup strategy...so hacker says pay me for your data, and everyone says eff off
Hospitals and Healthcare related companies (e.g. Insurance) at least are required by HIPAA to meet certain security standards. Whether they actually do or not, well who's gonna know if we are just really careful about hiding the stickynote with the password on it.
Mandating cyber insurance coverage could help as well and help align financial interests with cybersecurity ones
Yes, agreed
Hamilton did have cyber insurance, I bet their premium is through the roof now
Hopefully they have backups
City Manager Marnie Cluckie added that the city can’t access the data, since it’s encrypted, but that they have a backup in place.
“All evidence at this point and based on what our cyber experts are telling us is that while it's encrypted it hasn't been removed from the organization, it hasn't been taken and therefore it hasn’t been compromised,” Cluckie said.
When it comes to getting services back online, she said fire and paramedic services, along with anything safety-related, are priorities. Meanwhile, the city is still working to contain the breach and rebuild its IT system.
“It’s not over yet,” Horwath said, noting the long path to restoration still ahead. “Those bad guys are still out there.”
“Those bad guys are still out there.”
And the taxpayers are paying for their moustache trims so the powder doesn't get on their donuts.