BENGALURU: In the face of the global ransomware attack, private companies are enhancing their cyber security. While no IT company in the city has reported any instance of ransomware attack till now, they are taking precautionary measures to ensure data safety.
In response to a query from Express, IT major Infosys said: “We have not been impacted. At Infosys, we constantly monitor threats to our IT infrastructure and are taking necessary precautions to protect our systems from such threats”.
Experts caution that attacks such as this are here to stay and Friday’s attack will not remain an isolated instance. It’s not just companies that need to be worried as the next level of attacks could target individuals too, the experts said.
“Companies will need to have an incident response plan in place to quickly recover and also ensure that employees, suppliers and others who work with them receive regular security training. This ransomware onslaught is a resounding reminder of security basics required for organisational networks. The incident could have been avoided if critical patches were applied in time by companies across all industries”, said Kartik Shahani, Integrated Security Leader, IBM ISA. He added that IBM’s Managed Security Services team has raised the AlertCon to level 3, which brings a higher level of focus and resources for its clients.
The cyber police said an alert was issued and they have been keeping an eye on the ransomware threats. The Ministry of Information and Technology has also asked all the authorities concerned to participate in the webcast organised by Computer Emergency Readiness Team on Monday about the safety measures. The state cyber police said no cases of ransomware have been reported either from government agencies or IT industries. They said they have told the agencies not to open any unsolicited mails.
What hackers say
Hackers say as western countries are affected, the ransomeware got the media glare. According to a cyber hacker, infecting with malwares was earlier done for fun or to trouble somebody. But now this has turned out to be money making engine. As of now, one bitcoin costs Rs 1.16 lakh, the hacker said. “India is neither ready to prevent nor retaliate such attacks as we do not have such human resource. In future, these malwares are expected to hit individuals and mobile phones on a large scale,” he said.
What is WannaCry ransomware
WannaCry ransomware attacks Windows-based machines. It also goes by the names WannaCrypt, WannaCry, WanaCrypt0r, WCrypt and WCRY. It leverages SMB exploit in Windows machines called EternalBlue to attack and inject the malware. All versions of Windows before Windows 10 are vulnerable to this attack if not patched for MS-17-010. It encrypts the files and shows a pop up with a countdown and instructions on how to pay $300 in bitcoins to decrypt and get back the original files. If the ransom is not paid in three days, the ransom amount increases to $600 and threatens the user to wipe out all the data. It also installs DOUBLEPULSAR backdoor in the machine.
Some ATMs not working
Amid reports in a section of the media that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued directions to banks to not operate ATMs until they upgrade their software, some ATMs in the city were found shut or not functioning on Monday. However, an SBI official said no such direction was received from RBI. He added that if some ATMs were not functioning, it would most likely be due to technical errors and not because of the ransomware.
