Pakistani court warns of cyber attack

The Islamabad High Court has warned its employees of a possible cyberattack launched worldwide to target machines running on Microsoft's Windows operating systems. The virus -- Ransomware -- especially targets computers running on Windows 7 and 10 platforms, The Express Tribune reported.

Ransomware "encrypts the data and (then) the attacker demands ransom from the user to restore the same," according to a circular by the IHC's additional registrar. The warning asks users to desist from inserting USBs into official computers and surfing "unnecessary websites" or opening unauthentic web-links among others.

It also advises the staff to keep backup of the key official data in a particular drive. According to the report, Ransomware virus can be spread to computers through attachments or links in phishing emails, by infected web sites by means of a drive-by download or via infected USBs.