Oct. 6—After a ransomware attack launched on Sunday, computer systems are under restoration in Pottawatomie County, Kansas. While the county ultimately paid less than 10% of the hackers’ initial demands, the total payment amounted to $71,250.

More than 150 county desktops and laptops were temporarily booted offline. Systems that were rendered temporarily dysfunctional include county email and driver’s license services.

The county’s insurance picked up the majority of the costs, while the county covered the remainder. In addition, the county allotted $5,000 to enhanced decryption software, which assisted in unlocking files. Is this how taxpayer revenue should be spent?

Could better security have prevented the incident? Further attack details have yet to emerge and investigators are in the process of determining how hackers gained access. The identity of the attackers remains unknown.

Officials state that sensors have been installed on all servers for the purpose of preventing future attacks.

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