Calvia lost contact with citizens after a cyberattack

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Extortionists overestimated the financial capabilities of a Spanish town with a population of 50 thousand inhabitants.

The city council of Calvia, a municipality on the Spanish island of Majorca, recently encountered an ordinary, but only at first glance, ransomware attack. It is notable for the fact that cybercriminals demanded a truly astronomical sum as a ransom-about 10 million euros, which seems outright nonsense, given the total population of Calvia in 50 thousand inhabitants.

According to Juan Antonio Amengual, the mayor of the municipality, there are no plans to pay the ransom. The city authorities stated that they are making every effort to restore the normal functioning of services as soon as possible. As a result of the cyberattack, all administrative document flow with the population, such as filing civil lawsuits and requests, was suspended until the end of January.

The official website of the city Council informs about the creation of a commission to assess the scale of the cyber attack detected on the morning of January 13. "The IT service, together with specialists, conducts mandatory inspections and works to restore the affected services," the statement said.

The mayor also recorded a short video message to local residents, where he additionally confirmed the refusal to pay the ransom. This decision is in line with the obligations of Spain, which signed the anti-ransomware initiative last year, under which state institutions do not have to meet hackers ransom demands.
 
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