If you had any doubts about the threat of cybercrime… it appears another global ransomware attack has started. If your company does any international business, you could be next.
Spread through email and infecting websites and social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc), Petya ransomware has the potential to become as debilitating as “WannaCry” and has affected such global companies as A.P. Moller-Maersk, W.P.P. PLC, and Merck & Company. Your first line of defense should include educating your end-users. The trigger for this strain of ransomware is social engineering, a proven effective tactic for these cyber criminals. An example of this social engineering tactic would be a fake post on social media that seems to have a link to an article that catches your interest, and you click the link without thinking first.
Ransomware Prevention and Protection
Once clicked, the malware infiltrates an unprotected computer and causes pop-ups that say they’re from “Windows.” It’s all too easy for people to trust these messages and provide permissions, if any is needed, launching the malware. Your files will soon become encrypted with the latest 256-bit encryption, making it impossible to retrieve your files without a decryption key.
In addition, “Petya” will overwrite the infected PC’s boot files, giving users a blue screen and what looks to be windows check disk — actually showing you the status of your encryption.
Although we aren’t at “WannaCry” numbers of infected end-users, this should still be a concern for most businesses. Email and web-filtering can protect staff members that may tend to be careless when surfing the internet. Always keep anti-virus, firewalls, routers, and operating systems up-to-date. This specific ransomware attack was the result of not patching operating systems after the WannaCry outbreak that occurred last month.
If you want to educate your end-users on how to spot ransomware and the steps to avoid company infection, head over to the link below. There you will find a sign-up page for our free community outreach program, created to teach and educate executive and technical staff on avoiding ransomware through better awareness.
Link to sign-up for our free community outreach program:
https://www.clarecomputer.com/resources/events/ransomware-survival-guide/
