SF’s Transit Hack Could’ve Been Way Worse—And Cities Must Prepare

San Francisco’s public transit riders got what seemed like a Black Friday surprise: The system wouldn’t take their money. Not that Muni’s bosses didn’t want to, or suddenly forgot about their agency’s budget shortfalls.

Nope—someone had attacked Muni’s  computer system and was demanding a ransom. Monitors in station agent booths were seen with the message, “You Hacked. ALL data encrypted,” and the culprit allegedly demanded 100 Bitcoin (about $73,000).