Indianapolis, Indiana – According to the Indianapolis Housing Agency, a ransomware attack occurred last week.
Attacks using ransomware happens when hackers penetrate a computer system, steal the data, and then demand money in exchange for the data’s return.
Regarding the attacks, the agency released a statement.
The authority offers financial aid to people who are having trouble paying their rent and utility bills.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said, “When we first learned about the breach, we contacted IHA and made sure they were ramping up and scaling up the technological expertise that they need to protect the data that may be subject to compromise.”
Hackers typically obtain access by sending a careless email, even if the reason for this ransomware assault is still being investigated.
Apu Kapadia, professor of computer sciences at Indiana University’s Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, said, “Phishing attack is when you get an email that looks like it came from a friend or someone trustworthy, but that sender address has been spoofed.”
Because these attacks could have foreign origins, it is challenging to identify the offenders.
The Democrat mayor claims he is preventing similar cyberattacks from affecting other city agencies.
“In the interest of full disclosure we made sure that the city of Indianapolis was firewalled, appropriately, so that our data would not be breached as the result of an intrusion,” Hogsett said.
To ensure that landlords and vendors get paid, the authority claims it is collaborating with its bank and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
