Ransomware Attack Takes Out Moscow’s Cable Car System
Mere days after Moscow opened their first cable car system, it was shut down due to a ransomware infection. The cyber attack rendered the cable car network useless after successfully installing ransomware on the computer in charge of operating the system. This left Russian citizens frustrated, as the transportation network was offering free rides for the first 30 days.
The ransom note did not disclose the total ransom demand but did say the amount was contingent on the promptness of their response. That being said, a few things remain unclear, like what ransomware variant infected the network, and if the ransom was paid. According to Hack Read, the cable car system is fully functional again. This is an incredibly quick remediation time, leading to various speculations. This may mean they paid the ransom demand to restore services as quickly as possible. Or, it is possible the cable car system uses the same computer program another municipality uses and hackers were doing a “test run” before going after a larger target. Again, this is entirely unknown.
Other Ransomware Attacks
This is far from the first ransomware attack. To see a list of all other ransomware attacks that took place in 2018, click here.
