Johannesburg online crippled as hacker demands bitcoin ransom

The City of Johannesburg’s website has been hacked, and a group is demanding a ransom in bitcoins.

The city shut down its billing system as a precautionary measure after it detected a network breach which resulted in unauthorised access to its information system, it said on its Twitter account.

In a message posted on the city’s website, a group called Shadow Kill Hackers is demanding a ransom in 4.0 bitcoins, broadcaster eNCA reported. The hackers have threatened to upload all hijacked data on the Internet by October 28 if their ransom is not met, it said on its website.

The incident is currently being investigated by security experts “which have taken immediate and appropriate actions to reinforce security measures and mitigate any potential impacts,” the City of Johannesburg said. The investigation will take 24 hours.

© 2019 Bloomberg L.P.

Source: moneyweb.co.za