In a continued spree of ransomware attacks, LockBit has claimed responsibility for Cortina Watch cyber attack. The hackers reportedly targeted the public-listed retail enterprise, causing disruption to its official website.
At the time of writing, the website of the well-known and distinguished retail enterprise specializing in luxury watches displayed a “Website Under Maintenance” message.
Cortina Watch cyber attack: What we know so far
In response to a query by The Cyber Express, the company confirmed the Cortina Watch cyber attack.
“The Group was subjected to a sophisticated cyber-attack, where an unknown party gained unauthorized access to one of the Group’s servers and encrypted the information therein,” the company said.
“After detecting an intrusion into one of the servers, the Group took immediate steps to identify, contain
and address the potential attack on the server, including isolating the affected server.”
The investigation into the incident is still underway, and the company has duly notified the appropriate authorities, including the Singapore Police Force and the Personal Data Protection Commission, regarding the matter.
They also began notifying all parties whose data was affected from 7 June 2023.
According to the Threat Intelligence Service Falcon Feeds, the LockBit ransomware group claimed the cyber attack on Cortina Watch on June 8.
The hacker group stated that the company did not “want to negotiate” and did not “care about their customers’ data”, indicating that the discussions had not been successful.
LockBit ransomware group has threatened to release the exfiltrated data from the Cortina Watch cyber attack.
The specific details regarding the ransom amount and the extent of data held by the hackers remain unclear at this time. However, based on the claims made by LockBit, it is evident that they have successfully exfiltrated the entire SQL database.
“All available data will be published!,” LockBit’s post further read. The hacker posted three amounts on their website post – $1000 to extend the time for the deadline for 24 hrs, and $50,000 each to either/ and destroy the stolen data or download all of it.
Cortina Watch Cyber Attack: An Insight into the State of Cybercrime in Singapore
The official website of the International Trade Administration (ITA) highlighted the growing number of cybercrimes in one of the busiest and largest ports in Southeast Asia, Singapore.
“Cyberattacks in Singapore saw a 145 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in 2021, according to statistics from Check Point Research (CPR),” the ITA report read.
Singaporean companies endured close to 2 million cyber attacks during the second quarter of 2022. Of all the cyberattacks in 2021, 35% of crimes were related to ransomware attacks.
“Singapore has burgeoned into a digitally-enabled nation that facilitates a large portion of global finance, commerce, and transport,” an ET CIO report read. Nevertheless, it is precisely this reputation that renders Singapore an attractive target for cybercriminals.
Increased online scams in Singapore
Healthcare suffered 111% more cyber attacks between 2021 and 2022 while manufacturing saw an increase of about 415%. The nation lost $70.8 million due to email scams in the first half of 2022.
Added to that, “The number of scam-related cases in Singapore increased 32.6% YoY in 2022, totalling 31,728,” stated the report. There was a steady increase in online scams witnessed in Singapore from 2018 to 2022.
Phishing scams were the highest in number in 2022 with the reported cases reaching a number of 7,097.
Hackers exploit social media platforms to scam unsuspecting users
Facebook was among the social media platforms used the most by cybercriminals followed by Instagram to reach targets to scam them.
With more buyers shopping online for clothes, groceries, and electronic products, scammers create e-commerce related emails, SMSes, and WhatsApp messages to have them pay fraudulently for products.
Cybersecurity preparedness among nations
Among the readiest cyber secure countries this year, the United States of America took the first position followed by the European nations, Finland and the United Kingdom. The Republic of Korea was fourth in line with Denmark taking the fifth position.
However, in 2019, Singapore was number one in terms of being ready for cyber attacks, according to report.
Media Disclaimer: This report is based on internal and external research obtained through various means. The information provided is for reference purposes only, and users bear full responsibility for their reliance on it. The Cyber Express assumes no liability for the accuracy or consequences of using this information.
