Recently the news came out of a ransomware attack in Old
Delhi after three of the hacked victims came forward to uncover more about the
attack. The victims i.e. the traders were demanded ransom in Bitcoin from the
unknown hackers.
Although it is believed that the hackers are supposedly from
either Nigeria or Pakistan, they were responsible for encrypting files on the
computers of the businessmen which comprised of key records. The hackers at
that point, as indicated by the police coerced the victims, gave them the links
to purchase bitcoins through which they needed to make payments for the release
of critical documents.
“Some traders paid in Bitcoins and got their
data back. Some deposited the money from abroad. When my data was hacked, I
spoke to fellow traders and learnt that there were other such cases. I wrote to
the hackers and they agreed to decrypt the files for $1,750 (around Rs 1.11
lakh),” Mohan Goyal, one of the victims was quoted saying in the report.
According to reports, the hacked traders found the message
that said there was a 'security issue' in the system displayed on their
computers. The traders were then given case numbers and email addresses for
correspondence. They were then at first offered decryption of five of their
documents and files for free by the hackers, who later demanded the payment of
ransom for the rest of the records.
While one of the IP address utilized by hackers was
purportedly traced back to a system in Germany, but the fingers remain pointed
towards hackers from Nigeria and Pakistan.
Experts say that for making it difficult to trace the money,
getting the money in bitcoin works for the hackers. The Delhi crime branch
which registered the FIR has already sent the hard disks of the complainants
for further forensic tests. As of not long ago, three complaints already have
been registered by the police and it is believed that the number of victims
could be much higher.