Ransomware Attack List: Cities, Municipalities and Government Agencies
A list of ransomware attacks, malware and cybersecurity incidents that have hit cities, towns, states, countries, government agencies & organizations.
Ransomware attacks have hit at least 170 county, city, or state government systems since 2013, and 22 of those attacks occurred in the first half of 2019, according to The U.S. Conference of Mayors. We’re checking to see if those malware attack statistics represent U.S. or global figures.
Here’s a sampling of ransomware attacks that have hit specific cities, towns and government organizations. Keep checking the list for ongoing updates:
- July 25, 2019: City Power, the electric utility for Johannesburg, South Africa, discloses ransomware attack.
- June 26, 2019: Lake City, Florida agrees to pay ransomware.
- June 20, 2019: Riviera Beach, Florida, discloses ransomware attack and payment.
- May 7, 2019: City of Baltimore hit with ransomware attack.
- April 2019: Cleveland Hopkins International Airport suffered a ransomware attack.
- April 2019: Augusta, Maine, suffered a highly targeted malware attack that froze the city’s entire network and forced the city center to close.
- April 2019: Hackers stole roughly $498,000 from the city of Tallahassee.
- March 2019: Albany, New York, suffered a ransomware attack.
- March 2019: Jackson County, Georgia officials paid cybercriminals $400,000 after a cyberattack shut down the county’s computer systems.
- March 2018: Atlanta, Georgia suffered a major ransomware attack.
- February 2018: Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) employee computers temporarily were shut down due to a SamSam ransomware virus cyberattack.
Amid the continued attacks, The U.S. Conference of Mayors has vowed to no longer pay ransomware demands from hackers. We’ll be watching to see if the mayors hold true to that commitment.
Great article, however I think this is a lot higher then being reported. The reason is that a lot of smaller towns I don’t think are reporting it. I know this for a fact as I know a few in my local state that had it happen to them because they called us after it happened asking if we could help. I have yet to see them report it or it is not showing up on state lists or your lists etc.. Thank you.
Is there any location that has these attacks in a list format? Recorded Future has a small list but has not been updated since May 2019.
Michael: Thanks for your readership. We will continue to update the bullet list above as more attacks surface. Still waiting on the State of Texas to potentially disclose the 22 local government agencies that got hit in mid-August 2019.
-jp