Translink, a Public Transport company in Northern Ireland has made it official that it has become a victim of a cyber attack early this week. The authorities have confirmed that all its internal systems have been hacked and the cyber crooks have succeeded in installing file-encrypting malware i.e Ransomware on its servers.
Although no bus or train service has been impacted by the ransomware attack, Translink says that it might take some time to recover the data from backups.
Already, a team of IT experts has been pressed into service to investigate and mitigate the risks associated with the ransomware attack.
Translink has informed the authorities related to the Police Service of Northern Ireland(PSNI) about the cyber incident and has assured that no data was compromised in the incident.
But nowadays, hackers are launching sophisticated ransomware attacks where a certain amount of data is stolen at first and the database is then encrypted. This is to ensure that if the victim fails to pay the hackers, then they could earn money by selling the stolen data on the dark web.
So, until the authorities reveal the details on what type of file-encrypting malware has hit the servers of Translink and the info on demanded ransom, nothing much can be predicted!
The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) has also stated that it has started an investigation on this incident.
Note- Translink operates Bus and Rail Transport services across Northern Ireland, in Dublin and some parts of the Republic of Ireland. The metro services operate across Belfast which includes even the suburbs.
