More than three weeks ago, hackers seized parts of computer systems that run Eden’s government and key infrastructure, including hospitals, power plants, water facilities, transportation systems, and chemical storage facilities.
The attack seems to have affected both public and private companies alike, with residents reporting disruptions to telecommunication, digital payments, and even ride-sharing services.
According to Eden Police’s Cybercrime Division, the recent power outages across the city can be attributed to stolen credentials of 5,093 Barton Powerstation employees, which gave the hackers free reign to the city’s power grid.
Preliminary investigations reveal that the first infected systems originated from the Government House. Attempts to purge the ransomware from one infected computer led to the infecting of about 3,829 other computers in the building.
The ransomware encrypted the material stored on the infected computers, impaired their functioning and demanded payments so that data and services could run normally again.
The hackers involved are threatening to continue crippling more essential city services, and even release sensitive information on all the city's residents, including police officers and confidential informants, if their ransom demands of $5 million dollars in EdenCoin are not met.
Eden Police recommends that ransomware victims do not pay the hackers, pointing out that there is no guarantee that the hackers will abide by it and that the payment encourages cybercriminals to strike again.
City officials are resisting payment to the hacker group, even though it could take months of work to get the disrupted technology fully back online.
The city government's decision not to pay after the ransomware attack may end up costing more than the hackers originally demanded.
An insider source we spoke to said that they were not surprised that the attacks happened mere days after the government announced that it would officially adopt EdenCoin as an alternative currency next to the British Pound.
More as this story develops.
