Ransomware: Only one report received, but more unreported

CyberSecurity Malaysia said it has received one official report from an academic institution and assumed there were more unreported incidents related to the ''WannaCry Ransomware'' global attack on May 12.

In a statement here this evening, CyberSecurity Malaysia chief executive officer, Datuk Amirudin Abdul Wahab urged all organisations to be alert and continue with the necessary action to protect and secure their network infrastructure from being affected.

CyberSecurity, the national cyber security agency under the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, also advised organisations to patch up their systems and keep their users aware of the Ransomware attack in order to prevent them from clicking on suspicious emails.

Amirudin said the Ransomware attack was not a new cyber threat as the agency had previously received reports related to Cryptolocker, Cryptowall, CBT Locker, Teslacrypt Locky and several types of Ransomware.

"It is targeted to both individual users as well as businesses," he said.

"These malicious software infect computers, locks and encrypt files in the computer and prevent users access to the system until a ransom is paid to the creators to unlock the software.

"Among the impacts are loss of valuable data, disruption of an organisation's operation and reputation, and the high cost incurred in the recovery process," he said.

He also suggested that the public obtain the right information from official sources and verify the information before sharing it on social media as there are many hoax messages related to Ransomware WannaCry that have gone viral.

Amirudin assured that CyberSecurity is continuously and proactively monitoring the current situation and would take the necessary action by providing technical assistance to the affected organisations and individual users on remediation and prevention through its Cyber999 service.

The public can report any type of Ransomware by contacting the Cyber999 help service through its toll-free phone line: 1-300-88-2999 or mobile: 0192665850, SMS: Cyber999 report email complaint to 15888 or email: cyber999@cybersecurity.my or mycert@mycert.org.my.

-- BERNAMA