Broward County Public Schools sound out in a instruction on Thursday that no personal information had been compromise and that it had relieve oneself no extortion defrayment to the ransomware radical , which had station screenshots of its online talk of the town with the zone to its wickedness net internet site stopping point workweek as an apparent force per unit area technique . The district , which is situated in Fort Lauderdale , allege it is partner with cybersecurity expert to “ inquire the incident and remedy bear upon organisation . ” All serve are being repair , and go on is being make . “ We are not cash in one’s chips to make up a ransom money . ” harmonize to the cyber-terrorist ’ screenshots , after two workweek of stake and onward , the territory settle to give $ 500,000 , at which percentage point the ransomware criminal plain stop negotiation . outdoors of its promulgation , the territory reject to gloss foster . Broward is the nation ’s 6th - magnanimous schooltime zone , with 271,000 bookman and a $ 4 billion one-year budget — a designate the cyber-terrorist sustain bring up as they quest $ 40 million in cryptocurrency . The ransomware shut down the territorial dominion ’s electronic computer arrangement for a abbreviated sentence in former March , but class were not disrupt . The Conti bunch suppose early in their negotiation with a district prescribed , whose key does not seem in the screenshots and has not been bring out , “ It is a possible summarize for you . ” Its information - interlace ransomware is one of the top off ten ransomware melodic line . The Broward negotiant respond , “ This is a PUBLIC schoolhouse territorial dominion . ” “ You ca n’t real trust we do n’t possess anything like ! ” It was indecipherable whether the spokesperson was a zone employee or a leased ransomware treater , as is often the vitrine . The FBI usually enquire such lash out , but it would n’t pronounce if it was looking for into this unitary on Thursday . Over the past tense three twelvemonth , a ransomware eruption has afflict governance authority , enterprise , and individual . The mass of the gang are Russian - public speaking and place in Eastern Europe , where they are protected by liberal political science . The more make headway aggroup pre - key their prey , infect web through phishing or other method , and frequently buy data point while installation malware that cypher a victim ’s mesh . After the ransomware has been activate , the malefactor call for money in commute for the malware ’s decipherment and a prognosticate not to portion out — or sell — steal information online . The data point may be patronage enigma in the face of company . It may be Social Security identification number , banking concern answer for Numbers , or nativity day of the month in the fount of merchandiser or authorities representation . Conti suppose it steal Social Security identification number , parentage escort , and early scholar and employee contingent from Broward ’s arrangement . Ransomware plan of attack on public school day territorial dominion have been far-flung . finally twelvemonth , the Baltimore County , Maryland , Fairfax County , Virginia , Hartford , Connecticut , and Fort Worth , Texas , zone were among those strike . fit in to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Department , elementary , heart , and high gear school day have been steady target in Recent calendar month . It was divulge in December that K-12 schooltime were responsible for for 57 % of all describe approach in August and September , liken to 28 % in January and July . agree to Emsisoft psychoanalyst Brett Callow , ransomware snipe break up take at 1,681 school , college , and university in 2020 and at least 544 thence Former Armed Forces this yr . personal data was throw world in seven zone . Because of the indebtedness and mark bond to victim , many ransomware display case Adam unreported . Since victim and cyberpunk negociate on glowering site that research worker hear about through partake in malware try out , where assailant unremarkably allow for ransomware annotation with direction and asking , cybersecurity firm accept just information on ransom supercharged . A altogether industry has jump up to wait on dupe in their hand brake post . concord to cybersecurity ship’s company Palo Alto Networks , the middling redeem rouse to cut crowd about triple from $ 115,000 in 2019 to $ 312,000 in 2020 . agree to the sight , the high ransom money saddle by a fellowship two-fold terminal class , from $ 5 million to $ 10 million . Conti read it was will to negociate with Broward after the crew ’s initial $ 40 million take , saying it would regard $ 15 million in Bitcoin if it could be ship within 24 hours . other than , it would upload the personal datum it arrogate to receive and lock chamber the lock twist perpetually . Conti fence that the territory ’s sound claim for misplace the data point would monetary value to a greater extent than $ 50 million , so it can debate the demand a deal . Conti say the district , “ bear $ 15 million and you cat are assure to mend your problem . ” The territory suppose that it stillness could n’t give it and that it did n’t ingest accession to Bitcoin in either issue . Since cybercurrency is hard to traverse , ransomware pack take defrayment in it . Conti intensify its menace by say that it had detect disparaging entropy about an unspecified purple kinfolk in Broward ’s database , which the territorial dominion ’s treater laid-off as ridiculous . The negotiator serve , “ What do you mean by a imperial fellowship … we are a populace school day zone . ” Conti in the end lower its involve to $ 10 million after a two - week talk terms geological period . The zone counter with a $ 500,000 wish . That is the nigh late screenshot . “ The negotiation is unusual , ” aforementioned Emsisoft psychoanalyst Callow . “ The Conti extortionist are mollify extortionist , so it ’s unusual that they did n’t look to agnize who they were portion out with and request a essence that a populace school day system of rules will never put up . I ’m at a expiration for Word . ”