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Lanka escapes global Cyber attack for now, CERT on alert
View(s):In the wake of a global cyber attack on Friday (12), Sri Lanka has taken precautionary steps to protect Govt. agencies and systems, said a senior official at the National Agency of Information Security.
Senior Information Security Engineer at CERT|CC (Computer Emergency Readiness Team|Co-ordination Center) told the Sunday Times that the cyber attack known as ‘ransomware’, which affected at least 99 countries and many organisations worldwide, does not specifically target any particular country or organisation.
“So far it appears we are unaffected by the attack, as we have not received any complaints in that nature. Still, we have given requirements to all govt agencies as an early measure,” he said.
In an alert issued with high level of threats, the CERT Sri Lanka said a simple ‘ransomware’ may lock the system in a way which is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, and display a message requesting payment to unlock it. More advanced malware encrypts the victim’s files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.
Since ‘ransomware’ is a denial-of-access attack that prevents computer users from accessing files, Mr Chandraguptha urged the public to be vigilant on accessing attachments from unknown sources.
The Agency also strongly advised not to pay the ransom, if their personal computers are attacked and personal details compromised.
‘Ransomware’ is a computer malware that installs covertly on a victim’s device such as computer, smartphone, wearable device and with specifically designed cryptovirology that holds the victim’s data hostage or, threatens to publish the victim’s data, until a ransom is paid.
“Personal computers with low security apparatus have become the main target in this kind of similar attacks. We have urged relevant government stakeholders and public to keep up-todate of the Operating Systems (OS) and anti virus software in computers. “Another effective way to protect the data from malicious attack is having backup data in an external hard drive not connected to the internet, constantly,”
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) was hardest hit, forcing hospitals to cancel operations due to non-availability of documents of patients’ details in its online Servers. Reports from UK suggest that, the malicious software demands a US$ 300 ransom per machine, to be paid, in order to unlock affected computers.