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Summary
- REvil back at it again, targeted Miami Based IT Company this time
- Several users of the software under attack at the risk of losing data
- FBI and US Cybersecurity working closely to bust the miscreants
The recently increased frequency of ransomware attacks is alarming. The latest one witnessed on the IT firm Kaseya, based in Miami has raised questions about global cyber security. This software is used by several organizations across the world and the attack has put crucial data at schools, railways, a grocery chain, and a pharmacy chain under direct exposure to threat.
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How much did this cyber-attack affect schools in New Zealand?
Among the users of the VSA Kaseya software are several schools located in New Zealand as well. It is unclear how many of these schools have been affected by the attack, the ministry of education has ensured that the require support will be provided to determine the schools involved.
As many as 11 schools have been determined to be using the Kaseya software so far, and the one of them, St. Peters School Cambridge revealed how their IT department has been working ceaselessly to ensure that their networks are disabled, and data is secure.
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With a 25% rise in cyber-attacks recorded in the country in the past year, as recorded by CERT NZ, this is an alarming state of affairs and action needs to be taken to further secure loose ends. Only in the year 2020 when work from home has increased manifold due to the pandemic, there has been further rise in the number of cases, as people are away from highly secure networks.
Also read: After Colonial, Another U.S Tech giant hit by ransomware; Kaseya forced to shut
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The culprit
REvil the cyber gang responsible for this attack and they are increasing the ransom amounts for various victim organizations, depending upon how crucial their data is. After giving the victims a certain duration to pay, there are even threats like doubling the amount if the ransom is not paid on time. There are negotiations done before the final amount is reached. The victims have further been informed that only encrypted networks are currently under their custody, so the personal data is safe so far apparently.
How safe is your data after all?
Ransomware are the kind of cyber-attacks in which crucial data of the attacked is held for ransom, literally. Recent attacks have targeted hospitals and other different large Companies with diverse portfolios. While Cybersecurity experts discourage making any payments to such malicious intruders, several of the attacked companies do indeed end up paying to ensure the safety of their data and to put the wheels of normal functioning for their businesses in motion without any further delay that investigation and reporting might cause. This is also a reason for the rate at which these attacks are currently increasing.
Read now: Cyber security fraud incidents in New Zealand rise sharply in Q1
Also read: Secure your data, there could be a global cyber attack on its way
Kaseya on damage control
Kaseya has been posting updates for its users and advising them to get in touch with their service providers to ensure that their data is safe, following steps required to ensure safety for them. They have further advised their customers to render their servers offline and they have not yet been cleared to go back online. According to their Sunday update, there was a new tool released that detects compromise. The FBI and the US Cyber Security officials are both at work to ensure that the miscreants are caught before any further data loss occurs for Kaseya clients.
