NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – The city of North Miami has been the subject of a ransomware attack.
North Miami Mayor Alix Desulme spoke exclusively to Local 10 News about it on Wednesday.
He said the hackers have photos of his passport, an image of him sitting on a couch and fake nude photos.
“I think this is a lesson that we need to be more vigilant,” he said, adding that this has bothered him quite a bit. “Because we don’t know the whole scope of the hack.”
Local 10 News was sent an email from presumed hackers and immediately contacted the FBI.
Desulme spoke about the next steps.
“This is an active criminal investigation,” he said. “We have folks who are actively trying to extort money from residents and the city of North Miami, so it is a criminal investigation.”
Desulme believes that the hack began in the city and then extended to his personal email.
“Someone within the city clicked the message and that’s when they got control of our networks and we don’t know how long they were in there,” he said.
Local 10 News also received an official statement from the city of North Miami, which can be read below:
“On August 4, the City of North Miami’s network systems were affected by an outside cyber incident. The City immediately notified the FBI and proper law enforcement authorities. Since that time, federal authorities have been handling the investigation. As such, the City cannot provide further comment on any details surrounding this ongoing investigation.”
City of North Miami Administration