Hackers Make Police Departments In Maine Pay Ransom To Get Records Back

Several police departments in Maine had to pay around $300 ransom to hackers for getting their records back. Departments' computers were attacked by a virus, identified as ransomware which is a type of malware that causes restricted access to an infected system and demands a ransom payment.

Among the infected computers were also computers at the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and at the Houlton Police Department.

The affected police records from the hack were held like "hostages" by the hackers after someone downloaded a so-called "megacode" virus which had placed an encryption code on all the police stations' data, TechTimes reported.

"We needed our programs to get back online and that was a choice we all discussed and took to get back online to get our information," said Damariscotta Police Chief Ron Young.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation was able to track the payment, which was entered into a Swiss bank account. The currency used in the transaction was bitcoins.

The identity of the hackers is yet to be identified by the bureau.