HYDERABAD: Be it demonetisation or ransomware attack, ATM’s in Hyderabad will run dry for longer periods now with the RBI asking banks to follow the instructions of government organisation CERT-In to prevent any attacks by the ransomware WannaCry.
The cyber attack has impacted various IT networks in over 150 countries so far by Monday. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has come out with a list of dos and don’ts and a webcast on how to protect networks from the global ransomware attack.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also asked all banks to put in place a software update at ATMs to prevent their systems from the malware.
However, speaking on the sidelines of the ICR4D conference held in Hyderabad on Monday, IT minister KT Rama Rao said, “I think its a problem the world has been affected by. Luckily for us our data centres and infrastructure have not been affected. We have to take preventive measures like everyone else. We do all that is required to keep our infrastructure secure but even nations that are known for their cyber security have been affected and that’s a great learning curve for us. We are taking policy level steps. We should be alert.”
“The ransomware threat is a challenge for networks across the globe, spreading through emails, the human element responsible for its spread is equally responsible for the threat to grow. The lack of policy framework and understanding of security risks are the major catalysts,” said Ram Punamaraju, CEO and Co Founder of Yitsol, a Hyderabad-based cyber security firm.
Speaking on the origins of the malware, the expert said, “This NSA tool for government agencies is now out in the hands of blackhats who are misusing it to a more wider effect. If this sort of tool can be obtained from the leaks of NSA servers, about a month ago, then we can assume the potency of these hackers with combined capability of WannaCry can rain havoc across the global networks.”