A cyberattack has disrupted the Services Administration of the Capital City of Prague, Czech Republic. The hacker group responsible has threatened to release sensitive documents unless a ransom is paid. Some of the stolen data includes towing records, vehicle license plates, and internal non-anonymized contracts. While the exact impact remains unclear, authorities are actively investigating the breach.
The cybercriminals behind the attack have already published some of the stolen data on the internet. They claim to have stolen 200 gigabytes of data and are demanding ransom in exchange for stopping further leaks. The Services Administration has confirmed the attack and is working with the police and the National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB) to handle the situation. However, the organization has not disclosed full details on the stolen data or the timeline for resolving the attack.
Experts suggest that restoring the affected systems could take several days, provided proper cybersecurity protocols were followed. If the cybercriminals had prolonged access to the systems, the recovery process could be more time-consuming. Communication channels are severely impacted, with the organization now relying on temporary email accounts and mobile phones to communicate with the public. The full extent of the attack is still under investigation.
This marks the second cyberattack on Prague Services in six months. The previous incident was also a ransomware attack, similar to the current one. The group responsible for this attack, Cicada3301, is a newly emerged Russian-language cybercriminal group. They have previously targeted various sectors, including law firms, industrial companies, and even organizations working with children with autism and disabilities.
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