Illinois Police Department Pays $500 Ransom for Release of Hijacked Computer

Hackers infected the station’s system with a form of the “Cryptoware” virus that froze certain files. In order to regain access to the data, the suburban Chicago police department was told to pay off the crooks in bitcoin, an untraceable virtual currency.

An employee apparently had opened an email that contained the virus, allowing it to lock down the computer. A message popped up on the machine demanding money in exchange for a virtual code that would return access. Backups of the files were also infected.

The hacker did no taccess the information on the computer but merely shut it down and made it inaccessible.

A Midlothian, Ill. invoice, "for MPD virus," shows the town sent a $606 money order to a bitcoin cafe in New York to transmit the money to the hacker. The payment included bank fees and surcharges.

Officials tried to wire the money through Bank of America, but could not.