The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has suffered a massive data breach after being hit by a ransomware attack.
According to a report by FalconFeedsio, KEBS has been targeted by Rhysida Ransomware Group with the group publishing their data after KEBS failed to pay the ransom.
KEBS is the latest Government agency to suffer a data breach after Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) suffered a similar fate back in May.
About The Breach
The Rhysida Ransomware group is responsible for the attack and breach. The group has published 739GB of data belonging to KEBS for auction on the dark web after KEBS failed to pay the ransom.
The data entails sensitive information including financial records, emails, and product testing data.
Rhysida Ransomware Group
According to SentinelOne, the Rhysida Ransomware group was first observed in May this year. Since then, the group has been involved in several high-profile attacks around the world with their recent victim being KEBS.
Rhysida is deployed in several ways including phishing campaigns or via Cobalt strike or similar frameworks. The group then threatens the victims with public distribution of the stolen data if their demands are not met.
There has been a significant increase in the number of ransomware attacks with dire consequences following compromised organizations and businesses.
The recent surge in the frequency and sophistication of these attacks should be of concern to companies and organizations.
How to Protect Yourself From Malicious Banking Applications
Cybersecurity Practices Organizations Can Take to Safeguard Their Data
There are several measures that a company can take to safeguard their systems and protect their data from cyber threats. Such measures include:
- Conducting regular security assessments and audits to identify potential systems vulnerabilities. In addition, this is to ensure that appropriate security controls are engaged and working correctly.
- Educating and training employees on the best cyber security practices. Cybersecurity awareness training will help employees identify potential cyber threats they may encounter in emails or on the web.
- Implementing proper password policies. Good password management policies include the use of strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication on all systems.
- Conducting regular network traffic scans and monitoring to identify potential threats.
- Use of trusted and reputable anti-malware applications or tools capable of defending against malware threats.
- Regular updates and patching of systems to fix known vulnerabilities.
- Regular backup of data and implementing recovery plans. This will allow organizations to restore a copy of its in the event of an attack.
KEBS is yet to comment on the attack and data breach.
