Lake City, Florida Pays $460,000 in Bitcoin for a Ransomeware Attack

The city manager of Lake City, a community of about 13,000 residents some 60 miles west of Jacksonville, says it paid about $460,000 in bitcoin Tuesday to recover data and computer operations.

Los Angeles Times published a story about multiple Ransomeware attacks that hit Riviera Beach, Lake City and Key Biscayne cities that crippled computer systems for two weeks.

Joseph Helfenberg, city manager of Lake City, said paying the ransom was the cheapest option available since the city is paying a $10,000 deductible, and the rest is being covered by its insurer.

“We had a lot of attempts to recover the data that were unsuccessful,” Helfenberg said Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Lake City, a city in northern Florida, agreed on Monday to pay hackers 42 Bitcoin (equivalent to $573,300 at the current value) to its computer systems following a ransomware attack .

According to LA Times, The FBI in Miami refused to confirm or deny any investigation into hacking in the cities.