Florida Clinic Refuses to Pay Computer Hostage-takers

Hackers hijacked computers at a medical office in Zephyrhills, Fla. and held files containing sensitive patient information for ransom.

Midtown Clinic almost paid the $600 sum, but management changed its mind after police advised against it.

Paying only makes the hackers want to hack more, says David Couveriter, FBI spokesman.

“If we pay it, it becomes even more of a lucrative situation for the cyber criminals and they'll continue doing it,” he said.

The personal information, in this instance, included Social Security numbers, Medicare numbers and home addresses.

Sometimes, security professionals can unlock computers infected with ransomware. Other times, the information is lost. Midtown Clinic got lucky. The files became accessible even when the office didn’t pay up.