HYDERABAD: A ransomware attack on renowned publishing house Orient Blackswan disrupted its IT infrastructure and encrypted critical business data, with attackers demanding Rs 20 million to restore access.
According to Hyderabad cybercrime police, the incident came to light after K Ananth Shekar, vice-president (administration) of the publishing house, lodged a complaint.
He said the company’s systems were compromised around 11.55 pm on August 27, following which critical data was encrypted without authorisation.
A ransom note displayed on the affected systems directed the company to contact two email addresses to make the payment. “The attack disrupted essential business operations, including servers and databases,” the complainant said.
The company’s technical team immediately isolated the affected systems from the network to prevent the ransomware from spreading. Backup restoration procedures were also initiated, while internal stakeholders were alerted and precautionary measures put in place.
The company subsequently approached Hyderabad Cybercrime police and sought an investigation into the source and nature of the attack.
It submitted screenshots of the ransom notes, log files, forensic evidence, details of affected servers and databases, and server configurations and IP addresses to aid the probe.
A case has been registered and further investigation is underway.