Saad Ullah
5 Days to Pay Bitcoin
During the hack, visitors were shown a message by the hacker, “you are hacked. Some time ago I wrote that you have serious security holes you didn’t reply. The next time someone talks to you, press the reply button. You must pay 1 bitcoin in 5 days otherwise I will publish all data and send emails to your users.”
Following the message, there was a Bitcoin wallet address at the bottom of the page. The hacker clearly had made attempts previously to inform the Tram operators of the security issues, but then turned towards blackmail.
In wake of the attack, Luas, the Tram operator, tweeted that their website was facing an issue and users were advised not to visit the website.
Due to an ongoing issue, please do not click onto the Luas website. We currently have technicians working on the issue. We will be using this forum only for travel updates should the need arise. For any queries, please contact our customer care number on 1850 300 604. Luas @Luas
Since the hack, the Tram organization has replaced the page with the information that they have been the victim of a cyber attack and are attempting to restore the website. The page states that user data has not been compromised and has given specific links to their services.
Exposing Information
It is unclear about the details on the information the hacker may have stolen. The Tram website had limited interaction and mostly informational.
The ransom hack, a unique case for Ireland, is not the first in recent times. The DarkOverload, a hacking group has claimed to be in possession of documents related to September 11, 2001, attack in New York. The documents mostly relate to the insurance firms. The data is already available, according to the hackers, but is encrypted. They have issued a list of firms and companies that it says it has data of. The group is asking for ransom in Bitcoin to delete the information. They threaten that if ransoms are not made, they will release the encryption keys and the information will be public.
Saad Ullah
