HARRISBURG, Pa. – Leaders in the Senate Democratic caucus are hoping to have some of their IT systems back online by the end of the week, state Sen. Jay Costa told FOX43 Wednesday.

Senate Democratic lawmakers and their staffs were the target of a ransomware attack late last week that has held their data hostage unless the caucus pays the attackers a ransom.

” Folks are adjusting well and they recognize the predicament that we’re in,” Costa (D – Allegheny County) said. “They’re basically resorting to their own devices to be able to communicate.”

The FBI and Microsoft, which loaned out more than 100 laptops to workers after the cyber attack, are working with the Democratic caucus to get to the root of the attack.

“I just think it might have been something as an opportunity target as opposed to Democrats are being targeted,” Costa said.

“It generates money for the people who [sic] are creating and sharing these paths, so ransomware is not going away, and being proactive, being reactive are really the only things you can do,” Scott Davis, with IntermixIT, a cyber-security firm in Lower Paxton Township, said.

View full article at Fox43 News.