The public transport system in San Francisco, stroke by cyber attack

U.S. Marion Schneider
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The public transport system in San Francisco was the target of a cyber attack, so travelers could get a ride for free.

The hackers that initiated the attack have demanded a ransom of $ 70,000, writes BBC.

As a precaution measure, the staff decided to stop all the ticketing machines, so that those who traveled by public transportation have not paid anything.

All the computers linked in the city’s public transport network, including the ones in the stations, were disabled after the following message was issued by the attackers and appeared on all the screens: ‘You are under a cyber attack, all your contact details have been encrypted. Contact: Key (cryptom27@yandex.com) ID: .681, Enter’.

The trains themselves were not affected and the city officials said that they will lead an investigation.

‘Neither the transit service nor the personal information of our customers were affected’, said a spokesman from public transportation service for BBC journalists. ‘The incident remains under investigation. Therefore, it is inappropriate to provide further details at this time’.

Public transport agency, known as Muni, is responsible for all the trains, trams and buses around the city.

On Sunday, ticketing machines have returned to normal, but it is unclear whether the cyber attack has come to an end.

An official news website, Hoodline, from San Francisco, told the BBC News that hackers have provided a list of all the devices that were infected, that was more than 2,000 in total.

The hacker declared on Sunday, for Hoodline, that Muni has one more day to reach to an agreement.