ABC Ltd., a listed company, allows employees to access the company's systems through laptops and mobile devices. During the audit, the auditor…

CA Final · Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics · MTP · November 2026
ABC Ltd., a listed company, allows employees to access the company's systems through laptops and mobile devices. During the audit, the auditor observed the following incidents: An employee received a phishing email containing a link that appeared to be from a trusted software provider. After clicking the link and installing the software, the attacker gained unauthorised access to the employee's system. Several company files were subsequently encrypted and made inaccessible, and the attacker demanded payment in exchange for providing the decryption key. Identify the two types of malware involved in the above situations and explain their mode of attack.

Suggested Answer and Working Notes:

The two types of malwares involved are: Trojan: A Trojan is malware that appears to be legitimate software or a harmless file but, once installed, performs malicious activities. In the given case, the employee was deceived through a phishing email into downloading and installing apparently genuine software, which enabled the attacker to gain unauthorised access to the system. Ransomware: Ransomware is malware that encrypts a victim's data and demands payment in exchange for a decryption key. In the given case, the company's files were encrypted and made inaccessible, followed by a demand for payment to restore access. Thus, the first incident represents a Trojan attack, while the subsequent encryption and ransom demand represent a Ransomware attack.

Topics: Digital Auditing & Assurance, Investigation & Forensic Audit

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