Four days ago, the city of Atlanta's computer system experienced a hack. Now, local government is still struggling to bounce back and they're losing money in the process.
CNBC reports Georgia's capital city is still unable to fully collect online payments of bills and fees. On Saturday, hackers attacked the city with power outrages, demanding $51,000 to be paid in bitcoin as ransom to unlock the system.
The attack was made possible by ransomware, which infects and freezes computers or entire computer networks until a ransom is met and the servers are restored to normal. The malware has affected different parts of the city's infrastructure dramatically, cutting some residents off from utility services.
Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has not commented on whether the city will pay any ransom or not. Local authorities have claimed they know the hacker's identity, but haven't provided any further information. However, the mayor mentioned no one's personal information has been compromised or leaked during this incident.
CBS 4 reports on Tuesday, employees were instructed to turn their computers back on and resume work. Offices were offline following the initial hack.
To combat the hackers, city government has recruited IT experts from the FBI, Georgia Tech, and private companies to fight back. (And we can't say for sure yet but also maybe Cardi B.)
This hack follows similar news of Tesla's hack of the Amazon Cloud.
