Jaipur. A serious warning has been issued in Rajasthan regarding digital data security. Based on the observations of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, it has come to light that cyber criminals have now made network attached storage devices their new target.
In this advisory issued on the instructions of Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar Sharma, institutions have been asked to remain alert. According to Deputy Inspector General (Cyber Crime) Shantanu Kumar Singh, cyber attackers identify vulnerable or exposed NAS systems on the internet in a very planned manner.
By taking advantage of weak passwords and outdated software, they infiltrate the system and either copy or encrypt important data and lock it. After this, huge ransom is demanded from the institutions and threats are made to make sensitive information public.
Chartered accountancy firms, IT and consulting agencies, hospitals, media institutions and educational institutions are mainly included in the scope of this threat, as they have large amounts of confidential and financial data protected. These areas have seen an increase in incidents of ransomware attacks in recent times.
In the advisory, institutions have been advised to take several necessary steps to strengthen the security of their systems. This includes limiting the NAS system’s direct access to the Internet, using multi-factor authentication and strong passwords, keeping the software updated regularly, and applying all security patches.
Apart from this, it has been asked to take regular backup of the data and keep it safe offline, continuously monitor the system and take immediate action on suspicious activity.
Experts have also advised that in case of any emergency, data recovery arrangements should be kept in advance and if the system gets affected, it should be immediately disconnected from the network. It is also said that it is necessary to take help of cyber experts if necessary.
In case of cyber crime, an appeal has been made to immediately give information to the nearest police station or cyber police station and also to lodge an online complaint on the cyber crime reporting portal. Apart from this, helpline number 1930 and cyber helpdesk number 9256001930/9257510100 can also be contacted.
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