Ransom demand on Luas website likely the first of many in 2019

With the website of Dublin’s tram service, Luas, down after an apparent cyber attack, one of the country’s leading cyber security firms is urging businesses and the public to ensure their computers have the protection they need against an increasing number or ransomware attacks.

A message on the Luas website claims that it has been hacked, with the hackers demanding payment of 1 bitcoin. The same hackers are threatening that non compliance will result in the release of sensitive data.

The apparent hack matches a trend that’s already been detected by experts, just days into 2019.

CEO of cybersecurity firm Smarttech 247, Ronan Murphy says:

“Although it’s only three days into the new year Smarttech247 team have already seen a sharp rise in ransomware attacks. These are primarily spreading via email where they appear to be a Microsoft document (word, excel). The Ransomware will attack any server or computer which does not have adequate protection and this includes web servers that host websites and applications”.

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