Ransomware attack leaves Johannesburg residents without electricity

By Zeljka Zorz for Help Net Security
Friday, July 26, 2019

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Security experts have long been worrying about malware disrupting OT systems on which critical infrastructure depends on, but ransomware that doesn’t specifically go after those systems is proving to be nearly as bad.

“Cities, and especially their infrastructure sites, are usually a low-hanging fruit for unscrupulous cyber gangs. These victims will almost inevitably pay the ransom as all other avenues are either unreliable or too expensive,” Ilia Kolochenko, CEO, ImmuniWeb, told Help Net Security.

“Crypto currencies make such crimes technically uninvestigatable in most cases, letting the wrongdoers enjoy impunity. Law enforcement agencies are already overburdened with an increasingly growing pipeline of sophisticated investigations, often aggravated by continuous lack of financing and unfriendly colleagues from foreign jurisdictions. Unless governments develop, finance and duly enforce security regulations purported to safeguard cities and municipalities, we will soon dive into a darkness, facing grave accidents involving airports and other objects of critical infrastructure.” Read Full Article