HomeTeamNS servers affected by ransomware attack

SINGAPORE: The non-profit organization HomeTeamNS said on Monday (Mar 3) that some of its servers had been subject to a ransomware attack. The incident affecting these servers was discovered on Feb 25, and these were disabled and isolated from the organization’s IT network right away.

There is “no evidence of data extraction,” HomeTeamNS said, although it added that the situation is still being monitored closely.

“We engaged third-party cybersecurity experts to investigate and remediate the incident, and we are also working with the authorities. As part of our remediation efforts, the passwords of all our administrative accounts have been changed, and security scans and firewalls have been further enhanced to strengthen our network security,” the organization said in a media statement.

The servers that the ransomware attack had hit contained some data on HomeTeamNS’s current and former employees, as well as vehicle details of some members and affiliate members. The organization said it has reached out to the people who have been affected by the ransomware attack to help them protect themselves from phishing or unauthorized transactions and to minimize the impact of this incident.

HomeTeamNS also said it is working closely with its cybersecurity experts, the Police and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore to investigate and remediate this incident.

HomeTeamNS was established to recognise the contributions of the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) NSmen to Singapore’s safety and security. It provides venues for them to participate in sporting and social activities and has a membership base of over 260,000 NSmen.

There are four HomeTeamNS clubhouses across Singapore located at Balestier, Bedok Reservoir, Bukit Batok and Khatib.

Singapore’s vulnerability to ransomware attacks

In April, A new report on cyber threat incidents shone a light on Singapore’s vulnerability to attacks and showed that it ranks high in Asia among targeted countries.

“Singapore, being a vital hub for finance, technology, and related sectors in its region, makes the country an attractive target for various cyber threats,” read the ‘Singapore Threat Landscape Report’ from threat intelligence firm Cyberint.

About half of Singaporean companies have experienced numerous cyber incidents within one year, the most common being ransomware attacks and phishing attempts.

According to Cyberint, which characterizes Singapore as “Asia’s largest tech hub… in the crosshairs of threat actors,” Singapore is the fifth most targeted country in Asia, in a tie with the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.

India is the country most targeted by ransomware in Asia, followed by Japan, Thailand, and China, which are in second, third, and fourth place, respectively. Ransomware targets the top five industries in Asia: business services, manufacturing, retail, finance, and technology. /TISG

Read also: SPF+CSA: New Ransomware Recovery Portal for victims to seek help