'Last Laugh'
The ransomware attacks on U.S. police have left more than a few chiefs privately fuming, including Sheriff Brackett.
In a last-ditch bid to strike at least a tiny blow on behalf of U.S. law enforcement against ransomware extortionists, Brackett and his IT team paid the Bitcoin ransom, received the decryption key, cancelled the payment, and unlocked their system.
"We got the last laugh," Brackett thought to himself at the time.
Two days after his bait-and-switch scheme, hackers struck again.
This time the ransom was about $500.
This time Brackett paid and walked away.
