SAN FRANCISCO—A ransomware attack resulted in free rides on the subway system here last week.
"You Hacked, ALL Data Encrypted," was part of a message that reportedly appeared on thousands of Windows systems used by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, better known as Muni, after they were locked by ransomware, reported Bank Info Security. One hundred bitcoins— currently worth $73,000—was demanded in exchange for a decryption key.
The attack, which compromised more than 2,000 Muni payment and scheduling systems, began unfolding by Nov. 25. As a result, officials ordered Muni subway fare gates to be opened—and all light-rail rides were free—as IT personnel worked to scrub the ransomware from affected systems, reported Bank Info Security.
"We can confirm a cyberattack," Muni spokesman Paul Rose told Information Security Media Group. "It disrupted some of our internal computer systems, such as email. Fare gates are again operational."
Rose said the turnstiles were left open so people could ride the subway for free as the organization worked to mitigate the ransomware infection.
"We opened them on Friday and Saturday [Nov. 25 to 26] as a precaution to minimize any possible impacts to customers," he told Information Security Media Group. "There has been no impact to transit service, to our safety systems or to our customer's personal information. The incident remains under investigation, so it wouldn't be appropriate to provide any additional details at this point."