A small Canadian town is being extorted by a global ransomware gang

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Canadian town of St. Marys, Ontario, has been hit by a ransomware attack that has locked staff out of internal systems and encrypted data.

The small town of around 7,500 residents seems to be the latest target of the notorious LockBit ransomware group. On July 22nd, a post on LockBit's dark web site listed townofstmarys.com as a victim of the ransomware and previewed files that had been stolen and encrypted.

LockBit ransom listing for the Town of St. Marys

In a phone call, St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee told The Verge that the town was responding to the attack with the help of a team of experts.

To be honest, we're in somewhat of a state of shock," Strathdee said. It's not a good feeling to be targeted, but the...

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