New details into the ransomware attack in Millcreek Township. Erie News Now has learned the township paid tens of thousands of dollars to the hackers.

In September, a hacker installed malicious software on the township's computer system and took it over.

IT specialists could not decrypt the breach, so the township was forced to pay up.

We filed a right to know request and learned on Thursday the township's insurance company paid $53,503 to a company called Tetra Defense, Inc., for an extortion settlement on September 24th. Tetra Defense is an incident response firm which helps companies and organizations deal with cyber attacks.

The cost to the township itself was a $25,000 deductible it had to pay the insurance company.

Christopher Mansour, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Cyber Security at Mercyhurst University says Millcreek Township is not alone.

He says cyber attacks, specifically ransomware attacks are surging across the country, "With this pandemic and a lot of industries basically going work to remotely, that exposes those kind of industries to ransomware, with companies going remotely, they are exposing certain resources, employees are logging in remotely, probably not using the necessary security precautions, so ransomware can end up being installed on the company's server," said Mansour.

Professor Mansour says hospitals and schools are most vulnerable right now.

And living in a world where computers store so much of our vital information, ransomware often times forces a company to panic and pay up, but Dr. Mansour says paying hackers leads to a vicious cycle which only funds more sophisticated cyber attacks, "Do not pay the ransom, try to hire proper team to decrypt the information and retrieve the information, but of course the best solution is prevention."

And when it comes to prevention, Mansour says the most important thing is for companies to have a backup system, separate from its main computer system. Also, have a good firewall, ensure your employees have good email filters, virus protection software, and use strong passwords.