Hackers Demand $1.4 Million as Oil India Suffers a Ransomware Attack
Oil India suffered yet another cyber attack from an unknown source. The latest assault was on its headquarters in the Dibrugarh district of Assam and has led the company to shut down its computers and IT systems.
OIL spokesperson Tridiv Hazarika said the hackers had asked for a ransom of Rs 57 crore ($1.4 million). The time the ransomware attack took place was not disclosed. However, the official statement was released on Sunday.
Nonetheless, the production lines of the company have not been affected by the campaign and are functioning normally. Hazarika said that the only issue arising is in the personal desktops installed in offices which are in the process of being cleaned.
The spokesperson affirms that measures are underway to mitigate the situation and prevent such occurrences from happening. He said that Oil India has enlisted the help of cyber security experts and a superior anti-virus will be installed.
Who was Responsible for the Attack on Oil India?
The identity of the attackers has not been confirmed. However, a similar attack took place last week from which we could draw parallels. Oil India two days ago lodged an FIR at a Duliajan police station as it suffered a ransomware attack.
The threat actors demanded a ransom of $7.5 million through a note from an infected computer. OIL servers, networks and other related services at the time were affected and led to a huge financial loss for the company.
Nonetheless, site operations like drilling were running smoothly with no interruption. However, the attack was to have been carried out by a Russian Malware that was planted from a server in Nigeria. There were no further reports on whether the ransom had been met.
India is recording a sudden increase in cyber attacks. Last week, Cybertechwiz reported that The People’s Republic of China (PRC) conducted several attacks on India, targeting power grids in the northern part of the country close to Ladakh.
