COIMBATORE: An Udumalai-based studio photographer whose project files were recently encrypted by hackers for wanting of ransom had his video footage recovered by spending Rs 25,000.
With the help of a private computer centre, M Sathish (32) in Udumalai in Tirupur district recovered the video files that he shot at weddings. The unidentified hackers had encrypted his important photos and documents with strong code demanding Rs 69,571 for a decryption tool and unique key to access his files.
Even as Sathish filed a complaint with Udumalai Police, he sought the help of a private computer centre in Udumalai to recover his files. "For one Terabyte of our project files, I paid around Rs 4,000. They could recover only the video footage, which totally cost Rs 25,000. The pictures though recovered were still encrypted," Sathish said.
Sathish claimed that any encrypted files could be recovered unless the system is formatted and reinstalled with the operating system. "We were now advised not to panic if the files are encrypted by hackers. Through recovery tools, the files could be retrieved," he said.