North Miami residents concerned after city crippled by ransomware attack on mayor
MIAMI - City of North Miami residents are very concerned after their mayor said his Google email account was hacked and he became a victim of a ransomware attack.
This attack crippled city business and even though the city is back open, not everything is up and running. Those trying to pay for city-related services have to go to city hall in person to do so.
In a letter to residents on Sunday, Mayor Alix Desulme said in part:
"This incident, which targeted me as your mayor, resulted in unauthorized access to my personal Gmail accounts. As a result, sensitive personal information, including my passport details, bank statements, credit cards, and private images, were potentially compromised."
"I want to emphasize that this violation involved my personal accounts, not those of the City of North Miami."
"City hall is currently operating at limited services, meaning any business done electronically like paying online is not happening yet, only cash and checks are being accepted."
"Everything went smooth. I paid my bill I got my receipt and I'm happy," said resident Jacqueline Kemp.
"The water bill is too high. We don't have enough money to pay cash money. So I tried to pay with credit card. I still cannot pay it because the system is down," said Vella Clement.
There are concerns surrounding the cyber attack and what information was breached.
"That concerns me because I usually pay by check and they can have your checking information. Sometimes, I pay online and they can even get your email and hack into your home system," said Kemp.
"The residents of North Miami, we are struggling to pay the bills. We don't know who's going to resolve the problem," said Clement.
In the state of Florida, it is illegal for a state, county or city agency to pay or comply with a ransom demand.