Department of Information Resources (DIR) of Texas has officially announced that a ransomware attack has encrypted data related to 20 local government bodies. And DIR in coordination with the Texas Military Department and Texas A&M University System Cyber Response and Security Operations Center is offering malware cleaning assistance to the most seriously impacted jurisdictions.
Security analysts say that businesses in Texas were most vulnerable to cyber attacks as they were growing on a rapid scale and launching attacks on such digital assets will prove lucrative for hackers.
Currently, the news on how much the hackers were demanding from the Texas officials is unknown. But a source from one of the impacted entity says that demand is in millions based on the data value which has been locked up. The source added that the malware entered the network through phishing email bait which was accidentally clicked by an employee.
More details on the hack are awaited and will be updated shortly after confirmation!
FBI has already issued a cyber alert in Dec last year saying the victims of a ransomware attack should never pay the hackers as it not only encourages crime to propagate further. But also doesn’t guarantee the return of the decryption key from them.
Note– Ransomware is a file-encrypting malware which locks down access to files until a demanded ransom is paid to hackers. Usually, the payment is asked in Bitcoins or Monero as these two happen to be discrete digital currencies.
