Hackers Attack Smart City Office Servers, Cause Damages To The Tune Of Rs 5 Crore

Pimpri, 10th March 2021: The Central government has decided to make some cities in the country smart cities, including Pimpri-Chinchwad. 

However, in a major security breach hackers have hacked servers at the Smart City office.  There was a ransomware attack and the cybercriminals encrypted data from 27 servers at the Smart City office, causing a loss of about Rs 5 crore. The cyberattack was carried out for ransom on or before February 26, 2021, police informed.

According to officials, various facilities will be provided to the citizens under the Smart City scheme. The Smart City office is located at Astitva Mall in Nigdi. Tech Mahindra, Crystal, and Ax Infotech are currently working on the project. A program manager with Tech Mahindra has registered an FIR with Nigdi police station about the hacking. Cyber crime cell of Pimpri Chinchwad police is investigating the case.

The Smart City Plan will cover various activities such as smart parking, water, sewage, traffic, environment, and smart CCTV, etc. About 300 servers have been set up for this purpose. Of those, 27 servers have been breached through Phobos ransomware family. This malware prevents data from being read on the affected servers.

What causes cyber attacks?

According to a survey by cyber experts, 30 to 35 percent of ransomware attacks so far have been via e-mail. Around 10 to 12 percent of these attacks are from downloaded files. About 10 to 12 percent of attacks are caused by an unwanted website crash. 

How to avoid ransomware attacks?

1. Authorized use of the operating system.

2. Update the official system from time to time.

3. Use a good antivirus instead of a free one.