Ransomware Takes Down A Texas City Hall

The City Hall's ransom demand started at $200,000. The attack shut Port Lavaca's billing and payment systems.

We’re going to be down for a little while.” -Port Lavaca Mayor Whitlow

The city appears to have been hit by the Ryuk ransomware variant. Ryuk has become well-known for its particularly brutal attack pattern that often makes for a very costly recovery for victims.

The city has already racked up a nearly $50,000 bill.

Port Lavaca is one of hundreds of cities compromised by malware in recent months. In response to the increased attacks on government offices, the Texas Legislature passed HB 3834 in June to require Cyber Security Awareness Training for all government employees and contractors.

As cyber criminals keep getting better, more organizations are turning to INFIMA's fully automated Cyber Security Training to keep their teams safe.
Want to learn more? Start here!

Are you a Texas government office looking for more information on HB 3834?
See our blog post here.

Original article here.
[https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/counties/calhoun/port-lavaca-city-hall-suffers-cyber-attack/article_5e606a70-4f99-11ea-b28f-f3fe224b357f.html]