A South Florida school district’s computer system was the target of hackers who earlier this month demanded a $40 million ransom to prevent personal information about students and teachers from being made public.
According to a transcript obtained by the South Florida SunSentinel, hackers with the ransomware group known as Conti engaged in an exchange with a Broward County Public Schools representative, initially demanding $40 million from the district.
“The bad news is that we hacked your network and encrypted your servers, as well as downloaded more than 1 terabyte of your personal data, including financial, contracts, databases and other documents containing (Social Security numbers) addresses (dates of birth) and other information about students and teachers,” one of the hackers said in a text message to the school district representative. “If this data is published, you will be subject to huge court and government fines. The good news is that we are businessmen. We want to receive ransom for everything that needs to be kept secret, and don’t want to ruin your reputation.”
Then the hacker revealed the hefty price tag.
Read more from WPTV West Palm Beach.
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