Cops Pay Ransom to Hackers to Get Their Files Back

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According to the Boston Globe, the Tewksbury, Massachusetts, police department was so desperate to get the information from their computers that had been encrypted by hackers, they ended up paying the requested sum of $500 for the decryption key. And they aren't the only police department that has resorted to paying hackers in so-called "ransomware" schemes. From the Globe:

"At first, the problems with the Tewksbury Police Department system — difficulty calling up arrest and incident records — seemed to be just the usual system crankiness. No big deal.


But it persisted, and a technician was called in.

That was when the menacing message popped up on the screen, an explanation in the form of a ransom note:

“Your personal files are encrypted,” it read. “File decryption costs ~ $500.”

It continued: “If you really value your data, then we suggest you do not waste valuable time searching for other solutions because they do not exist."

Because they hadn't backed up their systems, the Tewksbury Police were in a terrible position. Read the rest of the story, as well as that of the other U.S. police departments that have fallen victim to the same schemes, at the Boston Globe.


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Hidden in the article is the problem with using a single hard drive for backup. This sort of ransom would be far less effective in the days of tape backup. The solution is to use an online backup with versioning or swap hard drives like we used to swap tapes.
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That is hilarious.
I feel sorry for the ones who have abnormally, tragically mutated tastebuds and think that warm, mushy pineapple is an excellent compliment to pepperoni and tomato sauce. The juice of the pineapple itself takes over, muting and mutilating the otherwise deliciousness of the pizza, the worlds most perfect food. Never let these people pick restaurants, meals, recipes... basically any decision that has to do with food. You just never know what abstract concoction they'll think is reasonable. While they're going "mmmm, isn't this delicious?" you're wondering how you can fake an illness out of the blue, or how you can sneakily dispose of what's on your plate. Where is that hungry dog that is otherwise always staring up at me from under the table while I'm eating? Even it has run away from such a culinary disaster, that it's pretending it needs another nap.
Standalone pineapple as a snack on a beautiful summers day however, is absolute perfection.
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I love this cartoon.... even though "quatto formaggi" is my favourite choice, i enjoy some pineapple and brine-cured ham on a pizza from time to time.... Anchovis are also a very delicious choice.... i once was on vacation in italy and they offered sfilacci de caballo on a pizza and also pizza with french fries... As long as there are people wanting to eat pineappe or whatever on their pizza just let them... And if there wouldn't be a market for pineapple-pizza it would have perished a long time ago....
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