K-electric, the sole electricity provider for Karachi, suffered a targetedNetwalker ransomware attack on 7th September 2020, leading to thedisruption of billing and online services. The company is currentlycatering to 2.5 million customers and has employed more than 10 thousandpeople.

Since the attack, K-electric consumers don’t have access to online servicesfor their account, but that is not all. A local Pakistani security companytipped off a ransomware researcher, Ransom Leaks, about the attack onK-Electric internal services. Fortunately, the power supply has not beenaffected.

According to a recent report by the bleeping computer, the ransomwareoperators are demanding a $3,850,000 ransom payment. They have threatenedthat if the amount is not paid within seven days, the ransom will increaseto $7.7 million.

Since last year, Netwalker has been actively attacking conglomerates andorganizations for ransom. In March this year, the threat actors reportedlystarted recruiting skilled hackers and shifted their focus to enterprisenetworks. After the recruitment, the number of attacks has increased on amassive scale.

Another report by McAfee suggests that this change in the tactics has ledto the ransomware gang earning $25 million in just five months.