Typewriters bail out cyber attack victims in Alaska

WHEN a cyber attack crippled computer networks in Alaska, officials happened upon an old-fashioned solution: typewriters.

Government workers in Matanuskasusitna are now using them to carry out their daily tasks after they found their computers held hostage to ransomware. The malware encrypted the borough’s email server, internal systems and disaster recovery servers, a spokesman said. Staff had “resourcefully” resorted to typewriters and were writing receipts by hand while officials rebuild their computer systems.

Ransomware is a malicious software that allows hackers to demand payment in exchange for restoring computer services. Last May, the NHS was hit by a ransomware that crippled services and affected computers in around 150 countries.

The borough of Matanuska-susitna, part of the Anchorage metropolitan area, said almost all of its 500 desktop computers and 120 of its servers were affected. Telephone systems, a door entry card system and the network’s backup data were also hit, according to Eric Wyatt, its IT director. The attack spread on July 24, while officials believe the malware may have entered its systems in May.

Mr Wyatt said anti-virus software had spotted one part of the virus on July 17 but failed to detect all the components of the malware.

“Though it initially appeared that our data was a complete loss, we have recently recovered data from the shared drives,” he said. “Email does appear to be completely unrecoverable.”