In San Francisco it is now free to travel on the light rail network.
The municipal public transport network's ticketing system has been hit by a ransomware attack. Hackers have encrypted all data in the system and locked out around 2,000 computers, servers and ticket vending machines.
According to the BBC, the hackers are demanding 100 bitcoins – that’s about $70,000 USD for the decryption key.
It's unclear whether the transportation agency paid.
Ransomware attacks infect a computer, encrypt all the files on it, and leave a message for the owner, who must pay to get their data back. Hackers enter through malicious websites, infected images, or movies.
It seems to be an activity
profitable, and according to
Symantec, millions of such attacks occur daily, some successful.
For now, the safest method of protection is to make backup copies.
