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May 6, 2024INC Ransom Gang Claims to Successfully Attack US-Saudi Arabian Business Council
May 6, 2024
Severity
High
Analysis Summary
A significant cyberattack has targeted multiple government entities in the UAE, potentially resulting in one of the country's largest data breaches. The ransomware group Stormous, affiliated with The Five Families conglomerate, has claimed to breached the servers of several UAE government entities.
Among those affected are KidX, Bayanat, Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), Sharik, and the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). Additional targets mentioned include Sannif, the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai (RTA), and Work-in-UAE.
The hackers have set a ransom deadline of May 9, 2024, demanding 150 BTC (approximately $8.7 million) to prevent the sale and leak of sensitive data. This ransom demand follows the hackers' claim of accessing sensitive information from the breached government servers.
The situation underscores the growing threat of cyberattacks on governmental institutions, highlighting the need for robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard against such breaches. Authorities are likely to be working diligently to investigate the extent of the breach and mitigate its impact, while also considering their response to the ransom demand.
Impact
- Sensitive Information Theft
- Financial Loss
- Reputational Damage
Remediation
- Maintain Offline Backups - In a ransomware attack, the adversary will often delete or encrypt backups if they have access to them. That’s why it’s important to keep offline (preferably off-site), encrypted backups of data and test them regularly.
- Isolate affected systems to prevent further compromise and conduct a thorough investigation to determine the breach's scope.
- Prioritize data recovery using secure backups to minimize operational disruption.
- Apply patches and updates to address vulnerabilities exploited by attackers and prevent future breaches.
- Strengthen cybersecurity defenses with measures like multi-factor authentication, network segmentation, and endpoint protection to thwart future attacks.
- Train employees in cybersecurity best practices to mitigate the risk of human error and prevent further breaches.
- Work with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to investigate the attack, gather intelligence, and apprehend perpetrators.
- Maintain transparent communication with stakeholders and the public, providing updates on the situation, actions taken, and potential impacts on services and data privacy.