No ransomware attack reported yet: IT ministry -Governance Now

No ransomware attack reported yet: IT ministry

Wannacry encrypts hard disk drive of computers and demands $300 in bitcoins to decrypt

GN Bureau | May 13, 2017

#bitcoins #Kaspersky Lab #Quick Heal #Symantec #malicious IP addresses #MEIT #Wannacry

A day after a global cyber ransomware attack, the Indian computer emergency response team of the ministry of electronics and information technology has advised organisations to apply patches to Windows systems. The details of patches, as stated in Microsoft security bulletin MS 17-010, are publicly available.

Ransomware malware is malicious software which, when in contact with a computer or network, encrypts computers hard disk drive and locks the user and demands for a ransom for decryption. In this case, ‘wannacry’ has demanded $300 in bitcoins. Reports claim that the attack seems to taken place across 99 countries—the figure is approximate. European countries, however, are the worst hit.

“It has been reported that a new ransomware named Wannacry is spreading widely. Wannacry encrypts the files on the infected Windows systems. This ransomware spreads by using vulnerability in implementation of Server Message Block (SMB) in Windows systems. This exploit is named as ‘Eternalblue’,” said an advisory on ‘cert-in-org.in’.

The cyber hack tool seems to have been stolen from National Security Agency of the US.

“On May 12, 2017… ransomware began spreading widely impacting a large number of organizations, particularly in Europe,” US based security solutions company Symantec said on its portal. WannaCry, the cyber security firm said, has the ability to spread itself within corporate networks, by exploiting a known vulnerability in Microsoft Windows. “Computers which do not have the latest Windows security updates applied are at risk of infection,” Symantec said.

According to officials at the electronics and IT ministry, so far no ‘wannacry’ cases have been reported. The government organisation is working on developing a ‘removal tool’ to detect the malware and clean the system with Quick Heal, and would soon be making it available on cyberswachhtakendra.gov.in portal.

ICERT, the officials said, is also sharing a list of malicious IP addresses with all government organisations and facilities declared as ‘critical information infrastructure’. Microsoft had released a patch mid-March for the Windows vulnerability being currently exploited by ‘wannacry’. Subsequently, ICERT had advised organisations to upgrade the Windows software with the given patch.

It is understood that it’s not a targeted attack. “Ransomware campaigns are typically indiscriminate,” Symantec believes.

Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cyber security solutions provider, have found 45,000 ‘wannacry’ cases across countries including the UK, Russia, Ukraine, India, China, Italy, and Egypt. “In Spain, major companies including telecommunications firm Telefónica were infected. By Friday evening, the ransomware had spread to the United States and South America, though Europe and Russia remained the hardest hit, according to security researchers Malware Hunter Team. The Russian interior ministry says about 1,000 computers have been affected,” a Guardian report said.

For remedial measures refer here

Comments

Other News

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Delhi moves to real-time traffic management

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved implementation of the ITMS Project by Delhi Police at an estimated cost of Rs.1,789.52 crore, inclusive of taxes. The project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three

MDR on UPI: Can sustainability come without weakening the network?

The extraordinary transaction volumes and value (₹29.82 Lakh crore in August 2026 alone) of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have made it not only an Indian success story, but a global one. In 2024, UPI accounted for nearly 49% of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, with more th

The Xi-Trump summit: The unending rivalry

Diplomacy is akin to an art, wherein the summitry, conflict resolution and negotiations form apt constituents of the entire context of deal making and “playing for keeps” in the international arena. The Xi-Trump summit in Washington last week, in which the American president broke all conside

“Indians, yet treated like outsiders”

Moving to Delhi-NCR for education can be an exciting experience for students from Northeast India. It gives us a chance to meet new people, experience a different culture and become more independent. But living away from home also comes with challenges that people who have not experienced them may not al