New York village paid ransom to keep its computers running, comptroller says

Ilion made payments of $500 and $300 last year after 'ransomware' infected municipal computers, while other US towns dealt with similar attacks

A village in central New York made ransom payments of $300 and $500 last year to keep its computers running after two official-looking emails released malware throughout its system, state auditors said.

The comptroller's office, which has audited 100 municipal computer systems in the past three years, said Ilion's experience should warn others of the growing threat, which can infiltrate computers and make them inaccessible. The big problem for the village of 8,000 was its financial software.