Flash alert against Netwalker Ransomware by FBI

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation aka FBI has issued a flash alert on Thursday(July 30th,2020) that many of the federal and corporate entities operating in US along with some healthcare and educational institutes have fallen prey to Netwalker Ransomware attack disrupting their website services and operational infrastructure for days and weeks.

FBI’s Flash Alert MI-000130-MW has highlighted the recent cyber attacks carried out on the IT infrastructure of public health departments in Illinois and Maryland that were launched in the disguise of spreading COVID 19 information related to tests and treatment was in fact a ploy to encrypt the information to the core on the database.

The September 2019 founded Netwalker Ransomware is identified as a malware that is highly customizable as per the likes of the developers. Meaning, it can not only encrypt info, but can also harvest admin details and steal data of the victims if tweaked accordingly.

Also, the attack repercussions do not end here as the attackers are now seen loading the info to a file sharing service to prove their potential in cyber crooks.

Till date, only Windows machines have been targeted by those spreading Netwalker who are reported to be demanding an amount ranging between $1 million to $10 million.

Therefore, the Intelligence service of United States is urging organizations not to pay any ransom to hackers or any variant as it encourages crime and doesn’t guaranty a return of the Netwalker decryptor in return. Also, the victims of any ransomware variant are being requested by FBI to report the incident as soon as they discover that will help the law enforcement to track down the culprits and hold them accountable that can prevent future cyber attacks.

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Naveen Goud is a writer at Cybersecurity Insiders covering topics such as Mergers & Acquisitions, Startups, Cyber Attacks, Cloud Security and Mobile Security

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