The authorities of the largest city of South Africa are forced to close the billing system and other electronic services on city portal due to a hacker attack, according to Bloomberg.
A group called Shadow Kill Hackers receivedunauthorized access to the city information system, authorities in Johannesburg confirmed. Hackers demand to pay 4 BTC (more than $ 30 thousand at the current exchange rate) until October 28, threatening to otherwise put pieces of data on the network.
It is reported that cybersecurity experts are already investigating and taking steps to minimize the effects of the attack. The web portal has been taken offline.
Whether the city’s authorities are going to fulfill the requirements of hackers is unknown.
Recall Riviera Beach City Council in Floridapreviously unanimously decided to pay 65 MTC to cybercriminals (about $ 600 thousand at that time), but then hackers completely took control of the city's computer system.
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