A second South Florida municipality is dealing with a ransomware attack that affected operations – this time, an incident just weeks before the 2016 election.
NBC affiliate WPTV-TV reports that the Palm Beach County elections office recently found out about the attack while the current supervisor of elections was working with a new IT director.
"I was shocked, didn't know anything about it," Wendy Link told the station.
Link said she notified several state and federal agencies – including the FBI and Homeland Security – and that none knew about the attack. Link said the current system is protected and that no ransom was paid.
The former IT director, Jeffrey Dater, was fired after an investigation into alleged child porn possession.
The incident comes after the North Miami Beach Police Department was hit with a ransomware attack and is now being told to pay millions to regain access to information it stored online.
The department said it appears no other department or city service has been affected. A source told NBC 6 the attackers demanded $5 million from the department to get the information back online.
