Without much ado, let me pop over to Catalin Cimpanu’s regular “Risky Business” update and share a cracking story for our fellows locked in the union of healthcare and cybersecurity. Picture this. A dastardly ransomware attack has single-handedly thrown a spanner in the works of Tigo, the top dog in the world of mobile operators and internet service provisioning down in Paraguay.
This fiasco, I’m afraid, unfurled just as we were all shaking off our New Year’s hangovers, on January 4th, and played merry hell with their business branch. So, there’s a right kerfuffle, and for you tech-savvy lot, I reckon you don’t need me to paint a picture of the chaos.
Firewalls flailing, servers screeching, I reckon nearly 300 servers in Tigo’s data center were left encrypted—giving everyone a right royal headache. According to our chum, Miguel Ángel Gaspar who heads the Paraguay Ciberseguro Foundation, he can confirm this unfortunate series of events. No doubt he was pulling his hair out.
Now, imagine this. These servers aren’t just sipping tea and twiddling their thumbs; they’re hosting vital services for at least 300 companies—who are left in a right pickle. Holey moley! They’ve lost phone service and files that happened to be cavorting around Tigo’s servers. Downstream impact and all that jazz. Makes one break into a bit of a cold sweat, doesn’t it?
Ho hum, not a particularly cheery snapshot from the corporate world, I grant you, but a timely reminder for all of you cybersecurity folks that you undoubtedly have a crucial role and are most definitely needed. Could do with a couple more of you superheroes, if I’m being honest.
Also, healthcare chums, you’re no doubt understanding the value of having your tech in good order after this frightful tale. It would be a right mess if your critical servers invitingly opened their doors to a ransomware attack. Imagine the repercussions and the frantic chaos!
And everyone else, make sure you keep abreast with the likes of our friend Catalin Cimpanu’s reports. Bit of a rum deal for Tigo, granted, but the rest of us can learn a lesson or two from the incident. Serious stuff, I must say! So, until the next time, stay safe, keep your digital doors locked, and remember, the next pint’s on me!
For now, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best for our chums at Tigo. See you at the next scoop, mates!
by Parker Bytes
