According to The PUNCH, the Nigerian Communications Commission has actually warned members of the public that a cybercrime group has refined a New Year plan to provide ransomware to targeted organisational networks.

The NCC said the brand-new ransomware revealed by security experts has actually been categorised, by the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team’s (ngCERT) advisory released over the weekend, as high-risk and vital.

NCC Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.

“According to the ngCERT advisory, the criminal group is said to have actually been sending by mail out USB thumb drives to numerous organisations in the hope that recipients will plug them into their PCs and install the ransomware on their networks. While services are being targeted, crooks might soon begin sending contaminated USB drives to people.

“Describing how the cybercrime group runs the ransomeware, the ngCERT advisory says the USB drives contain so-called ‘BadUSB’ attacks. The BadUSB exploits the USB requirements versatility and enables an aggressor to reprogram a USB drive to imitate a keyboard to develop keystrokes and commands on a computer system. It then installs malware prior to the operating system booting, or spoofs a network card to redirect traffic.

“Numerous attack tools are likewise set up in the process that allows for exploitation of personal computers (PCs), lateral motion throughout a network, and installation of extra malware. The tools were utilized to release multiple ransomware strains, including BlackBatter and REvil.

“According to ngCERT, the attack has actually been seen in the US where the USB drives were sent out in the mail through the Postal Service and Parcel Service. One type consisted of a message impersonating the United States Department of Health and Human Services and declared to be a COVID-19 caution. Other destructive USBs were sent in the post with a gift card claiming to be from Amazon.

“However, ngCERT has used suggestions that will enable corporate and individual networks to mitigate the impact of this brand-new cyber attack and be protected from the ransomware.

“These recommendations consist of a contact organisations and individuals not to insert USB drives from unidentified sources, even if they’re resolved to you or your company. In addition, if the USB drive originates from a business or an individual one is not acquainted with and trusts, it is suggested that a person contacts the source to verify they actually sent the USB drive.

“Finally, ngCERT has recommended Information and Communication Technology as well as other Internet users to report any event of system compromises to ngCERT through [e-mail secured], for technical support,” the statement checked out in part.

ToriNG