Congress President Sam Pitroda’s server hacked, hackers demanded payment of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency

New Delhi: Indian Overseas Congress Chairperson Sam Pitroda said on Saturday that hackers had breached his server and threatened him, demanding tens of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrencies.

“I want to bring to your attention a critical matter: my laptop, smartphone and server have been repeatedly hacked and severely compromised over the past few weeks,” Pitroda said in an email to the media.

He said that the hackers had threatened to damage his reputation if he didn’t pay tens of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrencies.

“Tens of thousands of dollars in bitcoin have been demanded as payment by the hackers in their threats. They have threatened to contact members of my network in order to start a smear and disinformation campaign to damage my image if they are not paid,” he said.

Additionally, he cautioned against responding to or clicking on any links since they could include malware that compromises systems.

“If you receive any emails or messages that appear to be about me from any unknown email/mobile number, I urge you not to open them, not to click on my links and not to download any attachments (just delete it); it may contain malware that could compromise your own devices,” it said.

He said that while he is now traveling, he intends to act right away when I get back to Chicago.

“To protect my online presence, this entails updating software, replacing antiquated hardware, and putting strong new security measures in place. Pitroda expressed his heartfelt regret for any trouble or worry this circumstance may have caused.