Atlanta still grappling with widespread computer hack -officials

By Laila Kearney

March 26 (Reuters) - Atlanta is still struggling with itsability to collect online payments of bills and fees, officialssaid on Monday, four days after a ransomware attack snarled thecomputer system of Georgia's capital city.

Hackers caused outages of services offered through thecity's website and broader computer system while demanding aransom of $51,000 paid in bitcoin to unlock the system.

"This is much bigger than a ransomware attack, this reallyis an attack on our government," Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tolda news conference. "We are dealing with a (cyber) hostagesituation."

She did not say whether Atlanta would pay the ransom.Atlanta officials said they have determined the hackers'identity but declined to elaborate. City representatives werenot immediately available for further comment.

Bottoms said only that the hackers entered the city'sdigital system remotely as opposed having had internal access.

Ransomware is a type of malware that infects computers orcomputer networks and then freezes them, with the attackersdemanding a ransom in order to restore services. The initialassault often comes via a phishing link that someone within thenetwork opens on their email.

As the disruption in Atlanta persists, the city is losingout financially, Bottoms told an earlier news conference onFriday. It was unclear how much it stands to lose or when thecity expects to get its computer system fully operational again.(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New YorkEditing by Matthew Lewis)