acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

ACM TechNews

Hacker Releases Georgia County Election Data After Ransom Not Paid


View as: Print Mobile App Share:
A ransomware warning.

A hacker publicly released election-related files from Hall County, GA, after county officials failed to pay a ransom.

Credit: paranet.com

A computer hacker publicly released election-related files from Hall County, GA, after county officials failed to pay a ransom.

The hacker labeled the released data as "example files," which generally are used to encourage ransom payment before more-compromising information is made public.

A review of the DoppelPaymer ransomware group's website shows the hacked files contain voter names and registration numbers and an election-equipment inventory, among other things.

The county announced the ransomware attack on Oct. 7, but has not commented about the amount of ransom demanded.

Said Brett Callow of cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, "What, if any, other data the criminals obtained during the attack is something only they and, perhaps, Hall County know.”

From The Wall Street Journal
View Full Article - May Require Paid Subscription

 

Abstracts Copyright © 2020 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA


 

No entries found