THELOGICALINDIAN - What seemed like a Black Friday drudge has appear extortionists ambitious bitcoin bribe Last weekend San Francisco publictransit book systems began torefuse commuters moneyThe hacker accepted 100 bitcoin from SFMTA to put its acquittal systems aback in abode to disengage the acquirement loss
Also read: Ransomware Fines Could Cost UK Business £122bn
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) refused to account the ransom. Instead, it opened the gates to acquiesce millions of commuters to drive for free to abbreviate disruption. By the afterward Monday, SFMTA’s business was back to normal. However, it is still alien how the arrangement got aback up.
Damage from the Black Friday Hack
SFMTA absent approximately $559,000 in revenue each day of the Black Friday hack. Additionally, the bribe would accept amount about $73,000. Such attacks are accustomed in this technologically avant-garde age — especially at organizations where IT aegis is not upgraded to accumulate up with hackers’ technology.
Extortionists can calmly drudge into anachronous systems to encrypt them. The hacker then demands a ransom to accept encryption apart — and alike then, decryption does not come with a guarantee.
According to The Verge, who contacted the hacker, the hacker has accepted he was gluttonous a accord with SFMTA to disengage the damage.
Other Damages
As able-bodied as the afraid acquittal systems, employees’ laptops, email and printed services, amount systems, and SQL databases were additionally compromised. In a terse statement, SFMTA said it had regained ascendancy of the acquittal system, while the blow is still beneath the hacker’s control.
The accident could accept resulted in far added adverse results if the hacker had acclimated his admission to abuse the operational assurance of alteration casework such as the alternation arrangement and buses. The account cited an advancing analysis of the adventure as the acumen for not absolution added details.
Preventing and Managing Risks
Organizations should accept action and procedures in abode for cyber attacks, to administer accident and ascendancy damage. With that said, investments in the upgrade of IT aegis would accept acceptable prevented such losses.
Bitcoin abandoned does not accord opportunities to hackers for extortion. Sufficient IT ability and advance are some of the key factors in this time and age to anticipate corruption of IT infrastructures.
To end on a lighter note: the Black Friday drudge ability accept absolutely additional the US abridgement on a Black Friday sales weekend, with all those added free-riding travelers out spending money.
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Image Credit: SFMTA, PYMNTS, Shutterstock
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