Security News > 2020 > June > Office supplies biz owned by UK council shrugs off ransomware demand for 102 Bitcoin
A Brit public sector-owned office supplies company shrugged off a ransomware demand for 102 Bitcoins after a staffer opened a phishing email.
A local blogger, publishing the Vox Medway site, claimed the attack froze all CSG services at 01:30 UK time on 2 April.
CSG is a rather far-reaching commercial organisation that resells office supplies and, latterly, personal protective equipment to various customers up and down the nation including some local councils.
In a statement Kent County Council told us: "On the 2nd April 2020 Commercial Services was subject to a ransomware attack which encrypted a significant number of its systems and data. This current and malicious 'malware' managed to avoid 3 levels of professional IT security. This sophisticated attack allowed the criminals to access CSG's systems and encrypt a significant amount of data. The cause of the attack bears the hallmarks of starting with a phishing email that was used to introduce a virus that would compromise the network for further attack."
Perhaps 2020 marks a turning point, for British companies at least, in fobbing off the tactics of frustrated ransomware criminals.