Hackers took over an American city's computer system weeks ago. They’re getting paid $600,000 to give it back.

Officials hope complying with hackers' data ransom demands 'will return the city’s computer system to being fully operational'

A city in Florida has voted to pay $600,000 (£472,554) to hackers who took over its computer systems three weeks ago with the apparent intention of extorting money from the local government.

Hackers stole the city’s records and encrypted the data before demanding ransom for its property.

Officials said the incident remained under investigation, but members of the Riviera Beach City Council reportedly felt they no longer had a choice but to intervene.

Earlier this week, the council voted unanimously to approve the hackers’ payment demands in the form of 65 Bitcoins. The money would be pulled from the city’s insurance funds, local news station WPEC reported.

The hacking began in early June, when emails containing a malicious virus were sent to government computers across Riviera Beach.

A government employee reportedly opened a link containing the virus, eventually allowing the hackers into the government’s computer systems.

The impact was calamitous for Riviera Beach, a growing harbour city located just 80 miles from Miami.

The local police department was forced to begin writing reports of emergency 911 calls on paper — nearly 300 are reportedly received daily — due to the computer outages. Fire departments were also without proper computer functioning since the hacks took place.

The city council also voted to fund $1m (£787,920) towards improving its security systems with new computers and hardware earlier this month after the hacking took place.

“Hopefully this will return the city’s computer system to being fully operational,” the city manager said in a statement at the council’s special meeting on Monday.

Phishing emails or “drive-by downloads,” in which users are tricked into opening malicious software on their computers, remains one of the most prevalent ways ransomware spreads nationwide, according to US Homeland Security.

The city’s hacking was also reportedly under investigation by multiple federal agencies, including Homeland Security, the FBI and the US Secret Service.