The computer network of the Pinal County Attorney's Office in Arizona has been hit with CryptoLocker, effectively shutting down a segment of that agency's system, according to 12news.
County Attorney Lando Voyles said the ransomware has so far destroyed 64,000 files, isolated in his office's case management system – through which the public can request public records. He said it would likely be a week before the system is restored.
CryptoLocker is a trojan that depends on social engineering to dupe email recipients into opening attachments that appear to come from a legitimate sender. However, once the victim clicks on the file a virus is implanted on the computer or network which encrypts popular file types and a ransom is demanded, usually either via bitcoin or a pre-paid cash card.
Voyles said he had no intention of paying the ransom.
Contending that he had no evidence to press charges, Voyles said he has yet to get law enforcement involved.
