According to reports, India is one of the top nations affected by Ransomware (a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid).
Three prominent ransomware has been targeting Indian businesses, a new report said on Tuesday. Global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Security identified three companies -- Ryuk, Purga and Stop.
India was attacked by all three groups -- 5.84 per cent by Ryuk, 0.80 per cent by Purga and 10.10 per cent by Stop. Ryuk reportedly was on the threat landscape more than a year ago and has since been active all over the world, both in public and in the private sector.
According to Kaspersky Security, 2019 has been the year of ransomware attacks on municipalities. The researchers observed that at least 174 municipal institutions, with more than 3,000 subset organisations, were targeted by ransomware during 2019 - a 60 per cent increase from 2018.
Judging by publicly available information, the ransom amounts varied greatly, reaching up to $5,300,000 and $1,032,460 on average. ”Most cyber attacks are possible by exploiting vulnerabilities that have already been reported and addressed, so installing the latest security updates lowers the chances of an attack,” said the report.
*Edited from an IANS report