Including CryptoWall and CryptoLocker The number of ransomware incidents has exploded in the last few years, infecting hundreds of thousands of systems worldwide. Ransomware is malware that’s designed to hold your data hostage unless you pay up. Wait too long —or try to rescue it — and that data can be gone for good.
Late last week, the United Stated Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) issued a joint alert on the Ransomware threat, mentioning the Locky and Samas variants. The alert discusses the history of Ransomware from early Scareware that threatened users into downloading fake antivirus software or paying a fine for alleged “illegal activity”, to the more destructive encrypting Ransomware variants that prevents a user’s access to their files until they pay a ransom for the decryption key.
The big questionis how do I make sure this does not happen to me ?
Have a look at the following 6 steps to prevent it from happening to you or to help you recover from the desaster
Perform and test regular offline backups to limit the impact and expedite the recovery process in the event of an infection.
How to stop ransomeware on your firewall.
Patch Microsoft and 3rd Party products
Keep all operating systems and software patched with the latest security fixes to reduce the number of potential attack vectors for the malware.
Scan all downloaded software before executing with up-to-date antivirus software
Implement Group Policies
If at all possible, disable macros in documents received from untrusted sources. Microsoft Office 2016 now makes this possible via Group Policy
Educate Staff
And finally, watch out for phishing attempts and do not follow unsolicited web links in emails. Information from Microsoft
