India continues to be a target of ransomware attacks. After the latest attacks on hospitals and hotels, cybercriminals have found a new victim. Recently, ransomware removal experts found a chartered accountant ’s office in Dadar (Mumbai) to be infected with ransomware. While the malware began its operation on the victim’s PC on 23 July 2018, it was not until the next day that the victim was able to come to the conclusion that his PC was infected.
Realization of the Attack
The victim was attempting to look for some information in his PC on the last Monday when he found issues with opening his files. He tried various tactics but was unable to access his data. Moreover, he realized that some part of his data was already gone. The victim was initially unable to understand the nature and the type of cyber-attack and returned home from his office.
However, after consulting a colleague the next day, he became aware of the scope of the cyber-threat. With the realization that his PC had been infected with a ransomware, the victim worked to duplicate his existing data and transferred it to a remote device.
According to ransomware removal experts, the victim was issued a ransom note that demanded money for decryption of his blocked files in the form of Bitcoin. An email address was provided for further communication by the cybercriminals.
Filing an FIR
Subsequently, the victim filed an FIR (First Information Report) at a local police station. Since then a week has gone by and police have been unable to nab the cybercriminals. The police department confirmed the date of the attack as 23rd July 2018.
Ransomware removal reporters gained some insights from the police department. According to a police officer, generally, large businesses are the primary target of ransomware. Though, this specific victim was targeted due to a reason. Cybercriminals were somehow aware of the knowledge that the data in the accountant’s PC was related to the upcoming income tax filing. Thus, due to the data’s importance and sensitivity, they were confident in their efforts to extort money from the pockets of the accountant.
