Ransomware gangs get more aggressive against US law enforcement

An officer holds a baton and shield as demonstrators gather to protest near the White House in Washington. US police departments big and small have been plagued for years by foreign hackers breaking into networks and causing varying level of mischief, from disabling email systems to more serious problems with 911 centers temporarily knocked offline. — AP

RICHMOND, Virginia: Police chief Will Cunningham came to work four years ago to find that his six-officer department was the victim of a crime.

Hackers had taken advantage of a weak password to break in and encrypt the files of the department in Roxana, a small town in Illinois near St. Louis, and were demanding US$6,000 (RM24,675) of bitcoin.