Bitdefender

Bitdefender researchers have discovered a group of Romanian cyber attackers who remotely infect computers and servers across the globe, from where they then illegally mine cryptocurrencies, according to a company statement sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.

Employees of the EU Agency for Cybersecurity in Brussels. Image: ENISA

Fairly or not, hackers put Romania on the global online map, honing their skills to strike Internet users and companies in the West, particularly the US.

But today, 30 years since the fall of communism, IT and cybersecurity firms are looking to tap the same rich vein of ambition, ingenuity and education that made Romanian hackers so feared and famous.

Romanian cybersecurity giant Bitdefender said on Friday that online attacks linked to Covid-19 "have risen by 475 per cent in March as compared to the previous month", and the numbers are expected to keep increasing until the end of the month.

"Almost one third of the Covid-19-related attacks target public authorities and healthcare institutions," Bitdefender said in a statement.

The SRI, whose investigation into the attacks is still underway, believes the criminals behind the attacks are from China. Marincea previously told local media that "the times in which the hackers were active" and the traces they left in their messages to their victims pointed to that scenario.

Romania's biggest cybersecurity company Bitdefender said on Tuesday that it has acquired Dutch network security analytics company RedSocks, its first acquisition of a tech company in 17 years, in a move to boost its presence on the European market and expand its portfolio.

The purchase was concluded on October 11, said a press release sent to the media by Bitdefender.

At least three multinational companies in Romania have been affected by the massive cyberattack that has hit institutions, companies and banks in Russia, Ukraine, Denmark, the UK and even the United States - and which continued to spread on Wednesday into Asia.

Director of the CERT-RO National Computer Security Incident Response Team Augustin Jianu believes Romania is faring well in terms of human resources for the protection of personal data stored with information systems, but it is facing a deficit of specific legislation.

Romania has already proved that it is a leader in information technology and it is no longer a secret that Romania is the second language spoken in the Microsoft offices around the world, Bruce Andrews, US Deputy Secretary of Commerce said at the Regional Cyber Security Summit taking place at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest.

Photo credit: (c) Alex MICSIK / AGERPRES PHOTO