QUEENSLAND’S oldest sex shop has been held to ransom by hackers who infected the store’s computers, locking down all its files with a highly sophisticated malware.
Hackers hit Charters Towers Rd adult shop Sweethearts early on Friday morning through an email that infected the store’s servers, holding their data to ransom until they paid through online currency Bitcoin.
The cyber criminals demanded a little over three Bitcoins, equivalent to about $1058, before they would give the company a key that would unlock the encryption on their files.
A counter appeared on one of the store’s desktops, counting down the hours until the ransom was due. If the ransom demand was not met it would double and continue to do so until the demand was met.
Owner Colin Edwards said he had no choice but to pay the ransom, although he fears the files will not be released.
“I have to pay, I don’t have a choice, these hackers can take anything off our servers, including client information,” Mr Edwards said.
“There’s no guarantee that if we pay the ransom that they can’t come back in a week and ask us for $5000 or $10,000.
“I feel like our business is stuck in a trap of which we have no way or knowledge of how to get out of.
“If we attempt in any way to try and get into our system they’ve stated they will destroy and corrupt it.”
Mr Edwards said he felt let down by police and other authorities.
“The system is letting us down,” Mr Edwards said.
“We contacted the police and they told us there was nothing they could do. We contacted the Federal Police and they told us there’s nothing they could do either.
“We were told to fill out a report to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN), although unfortunately you can’t talk to them direct.
“They sent us back an email telling us they were very busy and they couldn’t tell us when they could get back to us.”
He said throughout the whole experience he felt isolated and vulnerable, without anyone to turn to for advice.
A Queensland police spokesperson said they had received reports of small businesses being targeted by ransomware viruses.
“Several businesses across the southeast have been targeted by a form of “malware” known as ransomware,’’ the spokesman said.
“Members of the State Crime Operations Command’s Fraud and Corporate Crime Group continue to investigate these offences and at this stage have found the encryption to be highly sophisticated.”
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