Ransomware Attack Shuts Down Kansas City Systems

Problem: Wichita, the largest city in Kansas had to shut down all IT systems after a cyberattack. Attack Type: The attack began with ransomware, a type of malware which encrypts the victim’s data making it inaccessible to the victim. Affected: Nearly 400K people

Wichita, the largest city of Kansas, had to shut down their entire digital system in response to a cyber-attack that was detected on May 12th. Services like the city phone system, and even public Wi-Fi in some areas are not available, and financial transactions with the city, such as court payments or bus transportation fees require cash. There is still no estimated time that all services will be restored. The attack began with ransomware, which is malicious software designed to block access to a computer system. As was with this case, a ransomware attack will typically encrypt the victim’s data, making it inaccessible, and often the attacker will demand a payment to regain access. No mention of a ransom threat, nor the name of the threat actors has yet to be released. Nearly 400,000 people were potentially affected by this large-scale attack. Read more about the attack here.

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