Cybersecurity specialists recently reported a ransomware infection at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, U.S. Local media mention that malicious software has affected all computers linked to payroll, email and airport records systems.
Although the airport attack achieved a very
limited scope, experts in cybersecurity believe that this incident could have
caused disastrous consequences, especially if the infection had reached
critical airport infrastructure.
Through a statement, the mayor’s office
mentioned that it was only an isolated fact that had failed to disrupt the
airport’s regular operations. The statement highlights that the arrivals and
departures occurred as scheduled.
However, cybersecurity specialists believe that
this may not be an isolated fact, as this incident could be part of the cyber attack
campaign against the government offices of some U.S. states, such as New
York and California. Although these attacks have failed to fully
compromise the IT infrastructure of these states, some specific offices have
been affected.
The biggest affectation by ransomware known in
the U.S. occurred in Atlanta, when government systems were infected with the
dangerous variant of ransomware known as SamSam. Because of this, the police
had to record complaints on paper and pencil, there were no electronic payment
systems and there was no access to the computer systems of the courts and
government offices.
The perpetrators of the attack demanded the
Atlanta government a ransom of more than $50k USD in virtual currency, although
the total cost of the incident, including recovery process, reached about $17M
USD.
According to cybersecurity specialists from the
International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) it is virtually impossible
that the damage caused by this incident reaches figures similar to the losses
generated by the attack of ransomware in Atlanta. Experts believe that this new
attack should help organizations to take a more proactive stance on today’s
cybersecurity risks.
