Indian IT Company Wipro is said to have received a cyber threat from hackers who are demanding a sum of USD 50 million in Bitcoins to keep the database of the said tech giant free from malware. The company is, however, unperturbed with this issue and said that a team of top class officials who know to deal with the situation is working on it.
Mid last week, a few media resources reported that the world renowned software giant got an anonymous threat of a possible toxic drug attack unless a Bitcoins ransom is paid.
But officials from Wipro cleared the air over the weekend that it was a threat related to cyber security.
It’s a known fact that Bitcoin transactions are virtual and no bank in the world has the authority to track such financial dealings.
So, it makes easier for cyber criminals to run their trade by staying anonymous while receiving payments from victims.
Experts say that in last couple of years there has been an increase in bitcoins transactions. And that’s due to the fact that a large number of cyber attack victims deciding to pay instead of reporting the crime to the concerned authorities.
Presently, each Bitcoin costs $1,595 and the total bitcoin market is worth $24.5 billion today- thrice what it was last year at the same time.
According to a media briefing from US Department of Justice, ransomware attack has quadrupled this year than last year, averaging around 4K a day.
And as per a report compiled by Symantec, the minimum demand from ransomware hackers is $1000/attack.
Meanwhile, Wipro is said to have taken the anonymous threat on a serious note and is working to sort out the issues with law enforcement authorities.
One of the company’s spokesperson said that Wipro has taken all measures to isolate its staff, infrastructure, and assets from all kinds of cyber and bio attacks.
