Ransomware
infects Ukraine energy ministry website
Hackers have used a ransomware cyber-attack to
compromise a Ukranian government website
Hackers have used ransomware to take the website of
Ukraine's energy ministry offline and encrypt its files.
The website currently contains a message written in
English, demanding a ransom of 0.1 bitcoin - worth $927.86 (£664.98) by today's
exchange rate.
Ukranian cyber-police spokeswoman Yulia Kvitko said
the attack is an "isolated incident" and no other government websites
have been affected.
She added that the energy ministry's email system was
still up and running.
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"This case is not large-scale. If necessary, we are ready to
react and help," said Ms Kvitko.
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"Our specialists are working right now... We do not know how
long it will take to resolve the issue."
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Hacker 'opportunists'
According to cyber-security research firm AlienVault,
the hackers behind this cyber-attack have previously compromised other
websites, but they have only made about £100 from their efforts.
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AlienVault believes the energy ministry website has
been attacked by two different hackers - the first hacker, who signs his name "X-zakaria"
at the bottom of the webpage, merely defaced the website.
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The security firm believes that a second hacker then
came along, encrypted the website's files, and added a ransomware screen and
payment details.
"What has probably happened here is that a
hacktivist has hacked the site for fun, then the criminal ransomware attacker
has used their backdoor, which you can see at the bottom of the page, to try and make
some money," AlienVault security researcher Chris Doman told the BBC.
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He said that it was likely that these hackers were
amateurs, rather than nation state attackers.
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"It's certainly true that attacks against Ukraine
have impersonated ransomware before, to cover their true aim of pure
destruction, and in many cases, energy companies such as this have been a prime
target," said Mr Doman.
"However, in this case the evidence points to
something more mundane."
Source : http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43877677