The Los Angeles Community College District was forced to pay a $28,000 ransom in bitcoin to hackers who took control of the Los Angeles Valley College campus email and computer network.
Los Angeles Valley College Pays Bitcoin Ransom of $28,000
A virus locked the campus’ computer network in addition to its email and voicemail systems, according to Valley College Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez. The district paid the bitcoin ransom after consulting with the college’s technology staff, cybersecurity experts, and law enforcement. The district has a cybersecurity insurance policy that covers such attacks.
“It was the assessment of our outside cybersecurity experts that making a payment would offer an extremely high probability of restoring access to the affected systems, while failure to pay would virtually guarantee that data would be lost,” said Rodriguez. “After payment was made, a ‘key’ was delivered to open access to our computer systems. The process to ‘unlock’ hundreds of thousands of files will be a lengthy one, but so far, the key has worked in every attempt that has been made.”
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that allows online users to spend money anonymously. It can be bought and sold on exchanges with U.S. dollars and other currencies and has even become accepted in some restaurants across the nation. Still, because it is so vaguely defined, and has also been used in nefarious purchases across the net, there is still a lot of vagueness surrounding it – especially when it comes to writing regulatory laws.
According to district spokesman Yusef Robb., the campus’ website, email, and voicemail systems were restored the day after the hackers received the bitcoin payment.
Phil Lieberman, a cyber security expert, said “The attacks generally come out of Eastern Europe and cannot be stopped because the United States does not have pacts with the countries where the attacks are launched.”
According to Lieberman, the problem lies with the fact that “the U.S. government has no way to stop them, since the governments of the countries that launch this are uncooperative and in fact benefit from the criminal activity going on within their borders.” And “Companies do generally pay out if they do not have backups of their data and the data has value,” Lieberman said.
Being Charged with a White Collar Crime
Have you been charged with a white collar crime? Have you become the target of a criminal investigation for a white collar crime?
White Collar Crime Charges in Los Angeles
Get the strong defense you need by contacting a Los Angeles white collar crimes attorney at the Law Offices of Daniel R. Perlman. Our white collar crime defense lawyers can help if you are facing state or federal charges for a white collar crime or related offense, including:
- Embezzlement
- Mortgage fraud
- Bank fraud
- Health care fraud
- Credit card fraud
- Computer fraud
- Mail or wire fraud
- Insurance fraud
- Bribery, misappropriation, extortion and public corruption
Defense Against White Collar Crimes in Los Angeles
White collar cases are highly complex and should be handled by a qualified defense lawyer. The evidence in such cases often involve financial documents and intercepted communications demonstrating some type of alleged financial fraud.
The sooner a Los Angeles white collar crimes defense attorney can get involved in a white collar case, the better. If you have not already been charged with a criminal offense but believe you are the target of an investigation, contact our Los Angeles law office immediately. We may be able to help you avoid being charged with a crime.
If you have been charged with a white collar crime, we may be able to negotiate a resolution to your case with the prosecution in which you pay restitution and either avoid a criminal conviction, plead guilty to a lesser offense, avoid incarceration or significantly limit any time you may be required to serve. As a former prosecutor, Los Angeles white collar crimes attorney Daniel Perlman is highly adept at communicating with prosecutors and understands the critical importance of proactive case management. Finding creative solutions to criminal problems is a hallmark of our firm.
Working with a Criminal Defense Lawyer
Being accused of a white collar crime like money laundering is not to be taken lightly. While buyers might face penalties if it has been discovered that they have provided false names, the penalties will be far worse if it’s discovered that money laundering has also taken place.
The sooner a Los Angeles white collar crimes defense attorney can get involved in a white collar case, the better. If you have not already been charged with a criminal offense but believe you are the target of an investigation, contact our Los Angeles law office immediately. We may be able to help you avoid being charged with a crime.
If you have been charged with a white collar crime, we may be able to negotiate a resolution to your case with the prosecution in which you pay restitution and either avoid a criminal conviction, plead guilty to a lesser offense, avoid incarceration or significantly limit any time you may be required to serve. As a former prosecutor, Los Angeles white collar crimes attorney Daniel Perlman is highly adept at communicating with prosecutors and understands the critical importance of proactive case management. Finding creative solutions to criminal problems is a hallmark of our firm.
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