The city of Johannesburg, South Africa, is refusing to pay a Bitcoin ransom to hackers who have compromised the city’s computer systems.

Ransomware attacks are on the rise as hackers target businesses and municipalities across the globe. A number of cities have been hit with such attacks in the last few months, and the latest entry on this list is Johannesburg, South Africa. The leaders of the city of almost five million people are standing strong, however, and refuse to pay the Bitcoin ransom.

Bitcoin Ransom Demanded

The city’s computer services were hit last week with a ransomware attack. Some of the city services that were affected include billing and payment services, as well as library services and eHealth. The hackers demanded a ransom of 4 bitcoins, which was to be paid last Monday. That deadline came and went with the city refusing to pay.

City council member Funzela Ngobeni issued a statement, saying:

The city will not concede to their demands for bitcoins, and we are confident that we will be able to restore systems to full functionality.

City authorities noted that the hackers launched their attack during the time when city residents normally pay their bills and when the city pays its vendors. As of yesterday, the city council says 80 percent of functionality has been restored.

An interesting twist to this ransomware attack is that the hackers started contacting city workers directly. A spokesman for the city said the hackers sent messages directly to the laptops of employees demanding that the Bitcoin ransom be paid. The authorities decided to shut down the systems to protect from another potential cyberattack.

This is not the first time Johannesburg has dealt with a ransomware attack this year. Back in July, one of the city’s electricity distribution companies was hit, resulting in the loss of power for many residents.

A Growing List

Johannesburg is just the latest entry on a list that no business or local government wishes to be on – those impacted by a ransomware attack. In mid-August, 23 towns in Texas were hit with coordinated ransomware attacks from a single perpetrator. Before that, several schools in Louisiana were hit with ransomware attacks, causing the governor to issue a state of emergency.

The costs associated with ransomware attacks can be high, both in terms of money and its impact upon the community. Lodi City, California, had its emergency phone lines and financial systems crippled for a two month period after they refused to pay the ransom demand of 75 bitcoins. The city chose to rebuild their systems instead.

Two cities in Florida, Riviera Beach and Lake City, decided to pay off the hackers after they were hit with ransomware back in June. Lake City paid $490,000 in BTC while Riviera Beach paid $600,000. The cities decided it was cheaper to pay the Bitcoin ransom than to fix their systems or build new ones.

The cost of fixing a city’s computer systems is usually far more expensive than the Bitcoin ransom demand. The city of Atlanta wound up paying $17 million to fix their networks (the original ransom demand was for $51,000 in BTC). Baltimore was hit this summer, and the hackers demanded $70,000 in BTC. The city chose not to pay, and it is estimated that Baltimore will wind up paying $18 million to correct the issues.

Images courtesy of Flickr/Tom Hilton and Pixabay.