San Francisco, A small city in Florida authorised its insurer to pay nearly $600,000 as ransom to hackers who paralysed the computer system, sending all operations offline, the media reported.
The Riviera Beach City Council authorised the city insurer to pay 65 bitcoins, a cryptocurrency valued at approximately $592,000, The Palm Beach Post reported on Wednesday.
“An additional $25,000 would come out of the city budget, to cover its policy deductible,” said the report.
The attack began after someone in the police department opened an infected email on May 29, according to officials.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security are investigating the attack, said the report.
Two weeks after the ransomware attack was disclosed, the city’s email and computer systems were only partially back online.
During the past two years, ransomware attacks hit more than 50 cities across the US including Atlanta and Baltimore.
The attack has prompted Riviera Beach to replace much of its computer system sooner than expected, The Palm Beach Post reported.