Malware, Ransomware

Atlanta, Colorado DOT ransomware mitigation costing millions

The tab the city of Atlanta and the Colorado Department of Transportation is paying to clean up from their respective ransomware attacks has climbed into the millions.

Atlanta's bill has hit $2.7 million, according to WSBTV.com, meanwhile, Colorado's DOT has forked over up to $1.5 million to mitigate its attack, reported StateScoop.

Atlanta has been battling back since it was hit with SamSam ransomware on March 12 at which time the threat actor demanded a $51,000 ransom payment to unlock the encrypted files. WSBTV reported the $2.5 million has gone to cover contracts with three security firms, including SecureWorks, and a fourth contract worth $600,000 to Ernst & Young for advisory services.

The Colorado attack, also SamSam, took place on February 22 and initially forced the organization to shut down 2,000 computers across its system. The DOT still has not fully recovered with its systems are at about 80 percent of where they were pre-attack, StateScoop reported.

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