Josef “Joe” Kalina – pollster, advertising professional, communications guru. His good connections with politics, authorities and business have apparently made the 66-year-old a target for cyber criminals. The servers of his Viennese PR agency UNIQUE Relations were hacked, 49.47 gigabytes of data were stolen and the all-rounder was blackmailed.
The attackers are said to form the ‘Qilin’ group, which typically rents out their software to plunder networks containing lucrative data sets. In the current case, the “successful attack” on Kalina’s company was reported on the darknet on November 5, 2023.
Employees raised the alarm early in the morning
“We quickly got the matter under control,” said Josef Kalina in an interview with “Krone”, after an employee was unable to access documents or cars early in the morning and raised the alarm. “We immediately reported this to the police and the Dutch Data Protection Authority and called in a cyber specialist.”
The fact is that the virtual invaders demanded a ransom from the Viennese entrepreneur, more specifically Bitcoins, in order not to resell the documents – including the politically explosive documents – to the highest bidder. But nothing was paid, says Kalina. “We make daily system backups and were able to fend off further attacks. Nothing was published that was in any way compromising.”
“These bombings are widespread”
Kalina does not believe it is a targeted cyber attack. “There is an organization behind it. This is about widespread bombing.”
Homeland security expert Cornelius Granig points out that, especially in the super-election year of 2024, there is a particularly high risk of cyber attacks being carried out by criminals and warns: “Encrypt your sensitive data and strengthen security measures so that criminals do not misuse the data. data use.” S. Ramsauer
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
