When It’s Worth Paying a Hacker’s Ransom
No one likes giving in to blackmail, but cities like Baltimore may have no choice.
How much would you pay to get your screen back?
Photographer: DAMIEN MEYER/AFPBy the end of this week, we may know whether the unknown hacker who’s been holding the city of Baltimore’s computer systems hostage for the past month is prepared to carry out his threat to destroy all the data. He is demanding 13 bitcoins, or about $100,000, by June 7, although he has extended the deadline before.
Baltimore, whose systems have remained largely offline since early May, has made clear that it won’t pay a penny. The hacker has insisted that he’s serious. (He also seems given to racist rants, a habit that led recently to the suspension of what is apparently his Twitter account.) The city has estimated its losses at over $18 million, a sum that combines repair costs and lost revenue. The true figure may be much higher. Meanwhile, the hacker has released what appear to be documents downloaded from the city’s servers — including private medical information.