News
Expert Comment: Mayor of Calviá refuses to pay 10 million euro ransomware demand
January 2024 by Dr Darren Williams, CEO and Founder of Blackfog
News has emerged that the city council of Calviá, on the Spanish island of Majorca, has had it’s systems hit by a ransomware attack. They have a team currently working to recover the impacted systems and services, though the IT outages have caused the city to suspend some administrative activities.
There was a ransom demand of €10,000,000, and the mayor stated that they will not be paying under any circumstances.
Dr Darren Williams, CEO and Founder of Blackfog points out that:
“The recent ransomware attack on Calvià shows that not even government entities are immune to cyber attacks. Rather, they are consistently a heavily targeted sector because of their sensitive data and the essential services they provide.
Calvià is showcasing Spain’s dedication to the Counter Ransomware Initiative, as it was among last year’s signatories that pledged to not pay ransom demands. While it often seems like giving in to extortion demands is the easiest and fastest way to recovery, organisations and government entities need to collectively focus on preventative technologies such as anti data exfiltration that stop attackers before it’s too late.”
