Papua New Guinea’s finance department acknowledged late Thursday that its payment system, which manages access to hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign aid money, was hit with a ransomware attack.
The attack on the Department of Finance’s Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) occurred at 1 a.m. local time on Oct. 22, according to a statement released by John Pundari, finance minister and acting treasurer.
The IFMS consolidated the Pacific nation’s budget and accounting for all tiers and departments of government onto a platform. It controls access to funds for the government, which is heavily reliant on foreign aid.