L.A. College Pays Ransom to Fix Hacked System
January 10, 2017 |by Dana Bartholomew
VALLEY GLEN >> When a malicious hacker locked out 1,800 staff and teachers from their computers at Los Angeles Valley College this week, college administrators faced an agonizing choice: pay a ransom or leave 20,000 students in the lurch.
They elected to pay a $28,000 ransom. In bitcoins.
“In consultation with district and college leadership, outside cybersecurity experts and law enforcement, a payment of $28,000 was made by the District,” Los Angeles Community College District Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez, in a statement Friday.