A Cyberattack Hobbles Atlanta, and Security Experts Shudder [telecom]

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A Cyberattack Hobbles Atlanta, and Security Experts Shudder

Atlanta's city government has been struggling for days with ransomware that has crippled its computer networks and forced it back to doing business with ink and paper.

By Alan Blinder and Nicole Perlroth

ATLANTA - The City of Atlanta's 8,000 employees got the word on Tuesday that they had been waiting for: It was O.K. to turn their computers on.

But as the city government's desktops, hard drives and printers flickered back to life for the first time in five days, residents still could not pay their traffic tickets or water bills online, or report potholes or graffiti on a city website. Travelers at the world's busiest airport still could not use the free Wi-Fi.