Hyderabad: A book publishing house sought the assistance of Hyderabad cybercrime police after its systems were allegedly hijacked by unknown hackers, who demanded a ransom of €20 million.Police said the company’s employees detected unauthorised encryption of business data on the night of Aug 27. The compromised systems displayed a ransom demand for €20 million.The attackers shared an email address for communication regarding the payment and release of the encrypted data. The incident disrupted the organisation’s business operations for some time. Subsequently, employees relied on backup data to restore the systems and resume operations.The company representatives approached the police and sought action against those responsible. A case was registered under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and Section 308 (extortion) of the BNS. The company has shared forensic analysis reports and other evidence with investigators.Police said several organisations have fallen victim to ransomware attacks in recent years, with many such attacks originating from foreign countries. However, many companies reportedly do not approach law enforcement agencies.Real estate firms, construction companies, and organisations providing scientific and technical services have faced a significant number of such attacks. Cybersecurity experts generally recommend decentralised data storage and robust backup systems to minimise vulnerabilities and mitigate the impact of ransomware incidents.
