Hyderabad: Cyber security experts have sounded an alert on the possibility of malware and ransomware virus attacks, including WannaCry and others. According to National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB), in 2016 about 21 computers were attacked by malware and ransomware till May 31.
An official said statistics were released based on lodged complaints and registered cases. “The number of cases which did not come into the knowledge of investigation wings may be 10 times more than those registered. Similarly, as per NCRB’s statistics at least 75 websites in the country are getting vulnerabilities due to the attacks of hackers,” the official said.
Private cyber crime investigator Mr. Sandeep Mudalkar, who is assisting state police in solving crimes, said attacks of viruses by hackers picked up in 2013 in India.
“Earlier, the number was very less. In 2013, there were 4,160 attacks registered; this number crossed 10,000 last year. Increasing security features in devices is the best prevention method,” he said. Mr. Naveen Chinthala, a network analyst, said every operating system offered updates but most netizens neglected them.
“The updates must consist of security features. Apart from keeping the device up to date, a powerful anti-virus is a must for protecting devices like desktops, laptops, tabs and mobile phones,” he said.
Mr Ashwinchandra Valaboju, a cyber security expert, said netizens should consider blocking legacy protocols on their networks to protect their devices from malware and ransomware attacks.
“Apart from WannaCry, we have threats from serious harmful malware and ransomware like XcodeGhost, YouMi, MobiSage, QuickSand etc. Few of these malware programs can read protected data like disks, folders and files on desktops and SMSs and OTPs on mobile devices. The threats are categorised into three sorts—Data Security, Connectivity Security and Operating Security. Hackers across the globe are generating thousands of malware, spyware and ransomware programs every day. Netizens need to upgrade their knowledge,” he said.
Anti-virus companies say about 4 lakh malware and spyware programs are identified every day, of which about 50,000 are severe threats.
