Another Hacked Florida City Pays a Ransom, This Time for $460,000

Even the phones went down in the government of Lake City, Fla., after hackers launched a cyberattack that disabled the city’s computer systems.
For several days after computer systems were paralyzed by a ransomware attack, the staff of the small North Florida town worked with the F.B.I. and an outside security consultant to restore phone lines, email and online utility payments. But in the end, city leaders called an emergency meeting this week and reluctantly approved paying the hackers the ransom they demanded: 42 Bitcoin, or about $460,000.
It was the second city to agree to a large ransom in two weeks. Riviera Beach, in Florida’s Palm Beach County, signed off on an extraordinary $600,000 payment last week, also in Bitcoin, a cybercurrency that is difficult to trace.
As in Riviera Beach, the brunt of Lake City’s ransom will be paid by insurance. Only $10,000 will come out of the city’s coffers.