Brain Cipher Ransomware Cripples Indonesian Government

On June 20, 2024, the Indonesian government’s Pusat Data Nasional (PDN) was hit by a ransomware attack known as Brain Cipher, disrupting services for 210 institutions, including immigration processes. The inability to process visas, passports, and residence permits digitally led to significant delays and long queues at airports.

By June 24, operations began to return to normal after migrating data to Amazon Web Services (AWS) within 12 hours. The attack, attributed to a variant of LockBit 3.0, demanded $8 million for the return of stolen data. Despite the severe impact, the government refused to pay the ransom, focusing instead on recovering and securing their systems.

According to Pratama Persadha, chairman of Indonesia’s Cybersecurity Research Institute, the disruption caused by this ransomware was extraordinary. Deputy Kominfo Minister Nezar Patria speculated that the hackers were likely foreign nationals, reinforcing the complexity and global nature of cyber threats.

This incident underscores significant vulnerabilities in Indonesia’s cyber infrastructure and highlights the importance of robust contingency plans. The government’s swift action to migrate data to AWS was crucial, but ongoing efforts are required to enhance national data security.

Source: Dataconomy

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