The Spartanburg, S.C., Public Library system was shut down earlier this week after it was hit with a ransomware attack.
The attack began in the morning of January 29 when librarians in the 10-library system noticed a problem and then a ransom note appeared demanding about 3.7 bitcoins, around $37,000, according to the Spartanburg Herald Journal. The malicious actors have threatened to release all 740,000 records if the ransom is not paid.
County Librarian Todd Stephens told the Herald Journal the ransom will not be paid.
The library system does not yet know the extent of damage caused nor how long it will take to recover from the attack. All 10 libraries are still open, but 13 of its 23 servers are involved in the attack and the IT staff has taken down the website, the public catalog, digital collections and the staff intranet computers to help limit the damage.
Library officials do not believe any data has been removed.
