Another ransomware attack in Gurgaon, many cases unreported says police

There are more such cases where large firms are attacked, but they are not being reported due to reputation issues.

After the ransomware attack on a Gurgaon based company, which owns the clothing brand Blackberrys, more such cases are being reported. Police on Friday said a computer retailer complained of a ransomware attack on his systems.

Cyber crime hacker typing on laptop.

The ransom demanded from him was only about Rs 20,000, a police official said.

Officials, however, said there are more such cases where large firms are attacked, but they are not being reported due to reputation issues.

A senior official said that servers of a large advertising firm with a global presence including Gurgaon was hacked last Tuesday which impacted its business badly. “All the windows systems were hacked and most of the data has been lost. Whatever was on cloud and emails is saved. The IT system is crippled by the ransomware attack”, said an employee of the company. A case in this regard has been filed at Cyber crime cell.

Gurgaon police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar said that ransomware attacks and similar hacks were very complicated crimes, and to detect those was difficult.

Deepak Kumar, a cyber forensic expert said it is important to follow basic net-etiquette as it will help prevent such cyber attacks. “Keep the software updated, install firewalls, use genuine software, and never click on emails that come from unknown sources. Most importantly take backup data”, said Kumar.

In case of cyber attack on Blackberrys, the company was saved because it had backed up most of its data.

Meanwhjle, officials of the Gurgaon police Cyber crime cell said that they are looking into all the aspects of these crimes. “Right now the police will investigate these cases but side by side also make people aware about the need to work in a safe and secure environment”, said Pankhuri Kumar, in charge, Cyber crime cell.