NotPetya: How a Russian malware created the world's worst cyberattack ever

NotPetya malware spread like wildfire across the world, eating into every electronic equipment, computers, extracting data and demanding exorbitant amounts for recovery in form of Bitcoins.

Technology News: Imagine you wake up one day for work and realise that the IT hub in the office is acting fishy. All your colleagues, donning sharp suits, carrying compact laptops and tablets in one hand, a flask of coffee on the other, head to their desks for the day's operations to begin, only to find out that their files, both official and personal, are being "encrypted".

A daunting idea, isn't it? And what if these files in your C drive are mysteriously being repaired or, maybe in a more surreal way, you are being ordered to pay a sum of $300 worth of bitcoin to decrypt the files -- all this is not just a wicked idea, but this is what happened at the time when the most devastating cyberattack took place in today's history.

What is NotPetya Malware

"For the past four and a half years, Ukraine has been locked in a grinding, undeclared war with Russia that has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainians and displaced millions more. The conflict has also seen Ukraine become a scorched-earth testing ground for Russian cyberwar tactics. In 2015 and 2016, while the Kremlin-linked hackers known as Fancy Bear were busy breaking into the US Democratic National Committee’s servers, another group of agents known as Sandworm was hacking into dozens of Ukrainian governmental organisations and companies. They penetrated the networks of victims ranging from media outlets to railway firms, detonating logic bombs that destroyed terabytes of data."

In this conflict between the two nations, the Russian hackers, in June 2017 came out with one of the most devastating cybersecurity breaches to attack networks of victims via encrypted code, ranging from media outlets to railway firms, detonating logic bombs that destroyed terabytes of data. This idea of destruction gave birth to NotPetya, a much bigger threat to the world than the infamous Wannacry malware.

How to recognise NotPetya Malware

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News Source: BS

 

Ransomware attack: Why do hackers want payments through bitcoins?

'WannaCry' - the ransomware, asked users to pay a $300 ransom in bitcoins

 

 

Latest News : The recent ransomware attack has renewed a long-running debate about the dangers of digital currency. For those who are not yet aware, a malicious malware attacked almost 150 countries. The concept of the attack was simple: Your computer gets infected with a virus that encrypts your files until you pay a ransom.

"WannaCry" - the ransomware, asked users to pay a $300 ransom in bitcoins. The ransom note indicates the payment amount will be doubled after three days. If payment is not made after seven days, the encrypted files will be deleted. Security experts warn there is no guarantee that access will be granted after payment. Some ransomware that encrypts files ups the stakes after a few days, demanding more money and threatening to delete files altogether.

 

Why do hackers prefer Bitcoin over other modes of payments?

• Of late, digital currency Bitcoin has emerged as a favourite tool for hackers.        Why is it a soft target? - When you pay something digitally, you use net banking, credit card or debit card. Now your information is attached to the card such as name, address, etc).
  However, the case is different with bitcoin. The transactions you make using the currency are completely anonymous. According to a NDTV report, whenever customers trade in bitcoin, a private key associated with their wallet is used to generate a bit of code. That code is publicly associated with customer transaction but with no personal identifying information.
  Thus, every transaction is recorded and securely signed in an open ledger that anyone can read and double-check.
  Experts say that one of the probable reasons why hackers chose bitcoin as a form of payment was this - It protects identity.
  Earlier, hackers used to ask for money from PayPal but due to stringent KYC (Know Your Customer) norms in PayPal, they have shifted to bitcoins.(read more...)

WannaCry attack: What happened to my computer and how do I recover files?

WannaCry encrypts data files and ask users to pay a $300 ransom in bitcoins

 

 

Breaking News :  WannaCry Attacks encrypts data files and ask users to pay a $300 ransom in bitcoins. The ransom note indicates the payment amount will be doubled after three days.

If payment is not made after seven days, the encrypted files will be deleted. A look at how best one can protect oneself from ransomware:

• New ransomware variants appear on a regular basis. Always keep your security software up-to-date to protect yourself against them
• Keep your OS and other software updated. Software updates will frequently include patches for newly discovered security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by ransomware attacker
• Email is one of the main infection methods. Be wary of unexpected emails, especially if they contain links and/or attachments
• Be extremely wary of any Microsoft Office email attachment that advises you to enable macros to view its content. Unless you are absolutely sure that this is a genuine email from a trusted source, do not enable macros; immediately delete the email instead
• Backing up important data is the single-most effective way of combating ransomware infections. Attackers have leverage over their victims by encrypting valuable files and leaving them inaccessible.
• Using cloud services could help mitigate ransomware infections, since many retain previous versions of files, allowing you to ‘roll back’ to the (read more...)

Debit card scare: Why you need to change the ATM PIN immediately

Recently, many customers have got mails and messages from their banks to change the ATM PIN of their debit cards. We now know the reason, with reports suggesting 3.2 million accounts in five leading banks -- State Bank of India, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and YES Bank -- are compromised.

Bankers and cyber experts advise that ideally an ATM PIN should be changed every three to six months. Are they being overly cautious? Perhaps not. Several banks have already asked their customers to change their card security details and to stick to own ATM networks.

An ATM breach means the PIN numbers of not only that bank’s customers but all those who use that bank’s ATM network could be compromised.

“Once the malware is detected, the bank or payment services company will fix it but the problem is to identify the malware. While such incidents are common overseas, they are increasingly happening in India, too, as banks adopt more technology and transactions become digital. There is a need to be more pro-active and put the proper checks in place,’’ Khurana adds.

“While we have leapfrogged in digital technology, we still lag in digital security. Both banks and customers need to actively protect themselves. Going ahead, customers may ask a bank about its digital security and protection before opening an account and not only about services and rates. For banks, it is a question of their reputation,’’says Piyush Singh, Managing Director, Financial Services, Accenture India.

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