Islamabad:
The general director of the National Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT) has issued formal warnings to 39 Key government ministries and departments on possible cyber attacks that involve Bluelker ransomware threat, which could result in permanent loss of permanent data, operational interruption and leakage of confidential information.
According to a letter distributed by the Cert National, notices have been issued to avoid attacks on the main federal institutions. These cyber attacks, if they succeed, could paralyze business continuity systems and compromise the confidential state data.
The letter was aimed at high -level officials, including the division of the secretary’s cabinet, the interior secretary, the foreign secretary of Foreign Affairs, DG NACTA, DG FIA, the National Security Division, the Establishment Division, the Electoral Commission, the National Assembly and Pemra, among others.
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Additional recipients include central ministries and regulatory bodies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, NITB, NDMA, OGRA and FBR.
The notice specifically warned that Bluelker ransomware raises a severe threat of cybersecurity, urging all departments to spread the advice, isolate infected systems of the networks without delay and inform any incident to the relevant authorities.
Bluelker is aimed at desks, laptops, servers, networks and cloud storage platforms based on Windows, the warning said. It works by encrypting files and then demanding a rescue for data recovery.
The National Act has advised against unloading of un verified sources and clicking suspicious attachments or files. In addition, he has requested immediate training in cybersecurity for the personnel of all departments to help identify pHishing emails and malicious links.
In the light of the scenario of threats in evolution, the departments have been urged to strengthen their preparation and cyber response protocols.
