Hackers steal advertising agency’s data, demand ransom in Bitcoins

The company found a text file on their server saying that their data was stolen because of a lack of security measures, and they would have to pay a ransom to protect their files from being damaged beyond repair, said a police officer

MUMBAI: The central cyber police have booked unidentified people for hacking into the server of an advertising agency in Kurla, stealing data, and demanding a ransom worth ₹4.5 lakh in Bitcoins. The hackers threatened to delete the company’s crucial data if the ransom wasn’t paid, said the police.

Hackers steal advertising agency’s data, demand ransom in Bitcoins

The alleged hacking came to light on May 3, when the company’s employees faced issues while logging into its servers. After managing to log in using the “forgot password” option, they realised that a lot of data was missing, the police said.

The company’s third-party IT contractors found a text file on their server saying that their data was stolen because of a lack of security measures, and they would have to pay a ransom to protect their files from being damaged beyond repair, said a police officer.

The message said that the hackers would completely damage the stolen data if any attempt was made to recover or delete any files on the server. The message added that if the ransom was not paid soon, the data would be sold or leaked. They claimed this was a one-time-deal, and offered to provide tips to strengthen the company’s security.

When the advertising agency approached a cyber security company to investigate the matter, they submitted a report saying the hackers had used the Brute Force Attack method, cracking the password through trial and error.

The cyber police said they received a complaint from Pranay Ramaiyaa, 33, a Thane resident and employee of the advertising agency. They then registered a case against unknown people under sections 43 (penalty and compensation for damage to computer, computer system, etc.), 65 (tampering with computer source documents) and 66 (computer related offences) of the Information Technology Act and under sections 308 (extortion) of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, said the police officer.