180 Indian firms hit by ransomware

According to Trend Micro Incorporated’s report on Tuesday, an alarmingly high 79 new ransomware families were discovered in the first half of this year, which is more than what was found in the whole of 2015. The loss from ransomware, also referred to as Business Email Compromise (BEC), caused a whopping $3 billion loss to organisations across the world in the first six months, although the loss incurred by Indian companies has not been provided separately. Trend Micro Incorporated also said 2016 has emerged as a year of extortion through malware attacks. As per the report the estimated loss for organisations from the BEC till date globally from all versions is over $209 million. 

Over 58% of the ransomeware attacks this year wormed their way through emails. 

The ransomware operated on a simple mechanism, but managed to compromise business accounts, and facilitated unauthorised fund transfer. Organisations hold BEC as one of the severest threats to businesses. Ed Cabrera, Chief Cybersecurity Officer for Trend Micro, in a statement to the media said, “Cybercriminals are resilient and flexible when it comes to altering an attack method each time we find a patch or solution. “Organisations should implement the latest security solutions, he added. 

The BEC attackers target the victims after a thorough study, couching the scam in glib, business language. The attackers hone in on a person of authority and hook them into a business deal. Once they hook a victim, the next step is to request for a fund transfer or to raise an invoice for documentation purposes of a legal agreement.