Decoding Brain Cipher: The Ransomware Behind the National Data Center Breach

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June 25, 2024 | 9:32 am

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Silmy Karim, Director General of Immigration at the Law and Human Rights Ministry, inspecting the queues and service systems at Terminal 3 International, Soekarno-Hatta Airport, on Friday evening, June 21, 2024. In response to long queues caused by immigration service disruptions due to a nationwide outage at the National Data Center (PDN) server since Thursday, 100 additional personnel have been deployed at immigration checkpoints (TPI) at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Photo Courtesy of the Directorate General of Immigration)

Jakarta. The National Data Center (PDN) was hit by a ransomware attack last Thursday, causing delays in airport immigration services and new student registration. The hackers are demanding a ransom of $8 million, approximately Rp 131 billion, to return the stolen data.

In this incident, the ransomware used is called Brain Cipher. According to Lieutenant General Hinsa Siburian, Head of the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN), this ransomware is a new development of the LockBit 3.0 ransomware. In 2023, the LockBit hacker group also crippled the systems of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI).

"This ransomware is continuously being developed. This (Brain Cipher) is the latest version we've seen through samples," Hinsa Siburian said on Monday.

Ransomware can act as extortionware. While ransomware encrypts the data and systems it attacks, extortionware threatens to release the stolen data if the victim refuses to pay the ransom.

Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, Director General of Applications and Informatics at the Communication and Informatics Ministry, said that data isolation measures have been implemented to address this cyber attack. The government is also continuously working to restore various public services affected by the disruption.

The cyber attack last Thursday, June 20, caused major disruptions to the immigration office’s online services nationwide over the past week, as well as the online announcement of new student registration results (PPDB).

Currently, most immigration services, such as passport, visa, residence permits, autogate, and border crossing services, have resumed operation at Ngurah Rai and Soekarno-Hatta airports.

According to data compiled by IT security company Vaksincom, by mid-2024, 10 major institutions have fallen victim to ransomware attacks, including both private and government institutions. The victims come from various sectors, including logistics, shopping centers, consumer finance, banks, financial services, IT services, transportation, and stock brokerage firms

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#Tech #Security

Keywords:

ransomware Brain Cipher national data center malware cyber attack

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