WISCASSET (AP) — Police departments in the midcoast and Aroostook County have paid computer hackers ransom to get rid of a virus that infiltrated their computer systems.
Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett told WCSH-TV that they paid a ransom fee of about $300 to the creator of the virus to get their files back.
The virus hit the Houlton Police Department’s computer files this week, too, and the chief said they were forced to pay ransom to get the data back.
The kind of virus is called ransomware. Other law enforcement departments in the country have also paid ransom to get restore computer data.
The hackers often demand the ransom to be paid in bitcoins, an online current with a fluid value.
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