KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 23, 2018

The city of Atlanta watched multiple online Web pages and services stop working on March 22 in a ransomware attack that began during the early morning hours and generated a response from two federal law enforcement agencies and two technology companies.

Kennesaw State University Professor Andrew Green, who lectures on information security and assurance, told Government Technology he reviewed screengrabs of information that Atlanta NBC affiliate WXIA-TV reported it obtained from “a city employee.”

Based on that review, Green said it’s likely this attack is based on a virus from the Samas or SAMSAM family, which dates at least to 2015 and, like typical ransomware, encrypts portions of a disc.

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