KUALA LUMPUR – Over 300GB worth of private company files from Prasarana Holdings Bhd are now in the public domain following a ransomware attack against the public transportation provider.
Cybercriminal gang RansomHub, which claimed responsibility for the attack, on August 25 had given Prasarana one week to pay an unknown ransom amount.
On their website, which is accessible through an Onion browser, RansomHub stated that Prasarana’s files and documents are now “published” in their database.
RansomHub has yet to respond to Scoop’s queries regarding the ransom amount demanded from Prasarana.
While it remains unclear what Prasarana documents were released by RansomHub, the file names suggest data pertaining to the company’s revenue, Touch ‘n Go information, projects, and human resource matters, among other things.
RansomHub claims to be a group comprising hackers from various backgrounds but does not perform attacks against entities from countries that appear to be friendly with Russia.
According to cybersecurity firm Fortra, it is believed that the administration of the group is located in Russia or a Russia-friendly nation.
RansomHub operates a ransomware-as-a-service platform, where affiliates gain access to malicious tools to perform hacks.
With the ransomware in hand, hackers attempt to gain access to a company or entity’s network, possibly through a phishing email or other means.
Once a network has been successfully infiltrated, the company would not be able to access compromised files unless they pay a ransom to the hackers.
It is believed that because RansomHub published Prasarana’s files following the countdown, the company may not have paid the ransom demanded to regain access to its network.
Prasarana has yet to respond to Scoop’s request for a comment on the matter.
On August 26, Prasarana confirmed that it was the victim of a ransomware attack in a statement to the press.
Prasarana said that the attack involved unauthorised access to the company’s internal system, adding that their cybersecurity team is handling the situation. – September 3, 2024