Melilla has been with its collapsed systems for two weeks. Now, Villajoyosa has joined the party

Villajosa City Council (Alicante) has suffered a very similar luck to that of the Melilla: A cyber attack has completely left ko the computer services of the municipality. In this case, the attackers have not yet attributed authorship, and from the City Council they anticipate that the recovery process will last “several days.”

What happened. A cyber attack classified as ransomware The municipal computer systems has left out of the City Council itself. At the moment, the damages caused are being evaluated while trying to restore the service as soon as possible.

The City Council claims to be working with the Cybersecurity Operations Center (COCS), under the National Cryptographic Center, to accelerate the process of return to normal. Meanwhile, they warn that the systems will be inactive for “several days.”

How is this type of attack. Cyber ​​attacks classified as ransomware They have a very concrete purpose: Ask for a ransom. The way of operating is clear and consistent:

• The computer is infected
• Your data is kidnapped
• An economic rescue is requested to release them

Who has the computer on, to turn it off urgently. Local media They confirm that the event began last Wednesday night, warning the City Council to its workers to immediately turn off any administration computer.

The next morning, the City Council reported that its public service services were “attending manually, with the limitations that in some cases can entail.” Municipal sources point to more than 300 infected computers.

A case that sounds to us. The case of Villajoyosa is important because it is the second that Spain suffers in just two weeks. Melilla has been with her collapsed computer services by a cyber attack attributed to a Russian cybercriminal group.

At the beginning of this week, the figure requested by the group that assumed the authorship: 1.8 million euros in exchange for almost 4 tb of information. Among her, “all the inhabitants of the city”, tourists and information committed on public office.

No solution to sight. Villajoyosa speaks of “several days” to restore the service, but there is no specific date. Melilla already has fourteen days of computer chaos, refusing to pay for the rescue and with the National Intelligence Center (CNI) working to recover the encrypted data.

Studies tell us that paying an attack by ransomware increases the chances of attacking you againso the solution is not so simple.

(Almost) at the head. Spain It is one of the most attacked countries in the world by cybercriminalshaving suffered a wave of cyber attacks in recent months. The last, this week, investigating a data filtration related to the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.

Giants like Microsoft bet Por European security programs, offered without cost and in order to share intelligence on threats. Measures and proposals that do not seem enough to a growing phenomenon.

Image | Denisdoukhan

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