‘Smart’ parking meter vendor had data stolen in ransomware attack

A company that sells “smart” parking meters and technology used by parking-enforcement agencies in cities around the world was recently the victim of a ransomware attack that also exposed some of its internal files on a website maintained by the hackers responsible.

CivicSmart, a Milwaukee firm that sells parking meters capable of processing mobile payments, hardware and software used in enforcing parking rules and mobile apps used by motorists and government employees alike, was hit last month with a form of ransomware known alternatively as Sodinokibi or REvil. Messages posted to a website on which the hackers name their victims and leak stolen files in an attempt to elicit ransom payments suggest that CivicSmart paid an unspecified amount to have its files decrypted.

The attack was noticed in March by the Israeli security firm Under the Breach, but otherwise went undisclosed. A screenshot of the hackers’ site — titled “Happy Blog” — suggested that they were preparing to publish as much as 159 gigabytes of data taken from CivicStart. A text file shared with StateScoop revealing the names of stolen file folders indicates the data may include employee records, contracts with cities and parking-garage vendors, bank statements and credit card numbers of people who paid to park using CivicStart’s products.