A ransomware message encountered by a Facebook user on a directory screen at Tiong Bahru Plaza on Saturday (May 13).
She confirmed that there was no sensitive information in the mall directories and that neither money nor bitcoin were paid to the hackers.
“There is no other anticipated impact from this malware as the digital directory systems, from the onset, run on a separate network from the rest of the corporate networks of AsiaMalls,” she said.
She added that the digital directory service is provided to the mall by a third-party vendor and that vendor systems have been disconnected from the board while the a solution patch is being installed.
MALWARE MESSAGE ALSO SEEN AT ORCHARD CENTRAL
Photos of a similar malware message found on a display screen belonging to a Desigual outlet at Orchard Central are also circulating online.
Channel NewsAsia has reached out to Desigual for comment.
The Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore has said that no Government agencies or critical information infrastructure were affected by the attack, whose suspected culprit is a ransomware known as WannaCry – said to lock users’ files unless they pay a designated sum in virtual currency.
CSA’s Director for the National Cyber Incident Response Centre Dan Yock Hau told Channel NewsAsia on Sunday that those affected should not pay the ransom as indicated in the malware message as there have been instances where users were unable to access their files again.
“While affected users may choose to pay ransom to access their files again, users are advised not to pay the ransom as there is no guarantee that their files can be recovered even if they have done so,” he said.
In an online advisory released on Sunday evening, CSA said that Singapore has seen “a number of victims” struck by the WannaCry ransomware.
It recommends that users adopt a “prevention is better than cure” principle by installing a patch and verifying sources of any uninvited documents sent through email.
“Always make backup of your important files and documents, this will save you when you have to restore your files and documents when needed,” the advisory said.
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/tiong-bahru-plaza-s-digital-directory-hit-by-global-ransomware-8846096