At least 34 Colombian government portals have been hit by a cyberattack targeting IFX Network, a communications services and digital platforms company present in several countries.
The situation was reported last Wednesday and, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MinTIC), affects portals and pages of the Ministry of Health, the Superintendence of Health and the Supreme Council of the Judiciary.
The MinTIC explained that since September 12, IFX Networks suffered an external cyber security attack of the Ransomware type (“digital kidnapping” of information and applications), affecting approximately 762 companies in Latin America.
In response to the cyber attack on IFX Networks, the Digital Transformation Directorate of the Presidency of the Republic spent the day @kattansaul and the @Ministerio_TIC We installed the Ciber Unified Command Post (PMU Ciber) to identify the damage and resolve the issues. pic.twitter.com/N2Ve0yNAzD
— Mauricio Lizcano (@MauricioLizcano) September 14, 2023
“The IFX provider reports that the technical team is busy restoring services (…) priority attention is requested for the healthcare sector, to mitigate the impact of this incident on digital healthcare, procedures, among other things. as well as other entities that also need support to continue their activities,” the information added.
Through a statement, the entity indicated that the Cyber Unified Command Post (PMU Ciber) had been installed to assess the damage and resolve the consequences.
“From the PMU Ciber, we are investigating which additional public entities may have been affected, with the aim of knowing the real impact in Colombia. It is important to clarify that the incident took place against the service provider IFX Networks, but not against state entities,” the Digital Transformation Advisory Team said.
This attack can be considered the largest attack on Colombia’s infrastructure in recent years. Therefore, the urgent establishment of the National Agency for Security and Space Affairs is important. #National Agency for Security and Space Affairs
— Saul Kattan (@KattanSaul) September 13, 2023
According to the company, the data on the portals has not been affected.
Julio César Mancipe, digital security and cybersecurity advisor to the presidency, and Saúl Kattan Cohen, ICT advisor to the presidency, told El Tiempo that cryptocurrencies were asked to release the data.
As a result of the cyber attack on IFX Networks, the Colombian judiciary has reported on the protection of social networks (recursos de amparo), habeas corpus and the guarantee control function”.
Meanwhile, the Ombudsman’s office said in a statement that “the attacks have had a serious impact on the platforms of the Superintendency of Health, the Ministry of Health, the Superintendence of Industry and on essential systems for the functioning of justice in Colombia. ” (JO)
Source: Eluniverso
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