You’ll need to work with state and federal officials to overcome a major data breach. Federal departments to contact include your local FBI office, the Secret Service, and the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
In the instance that a hacker demands a ransom for the return of lost government data, you’ll need to weigh the pros and cons of meeting (or not meeting) their demands. Not paying the ransom can result in spending millions of taxpayer dollars to alleviate the situation. If you do pay, however, you send a message to other hackers that if they successfully breach your data, they can expect to receive payment. the FBI recommends NOT paying the ransom.