Ransomware – Beware of Suspicious E-Mail Attachments
Over the past weeks, we here at Hybrid Technology Partners we have noticed a large increase in a type of Malware that installs itself on your PC and encrypts the hard drive leaving you with no access to your files. This form of Ransomware is next to impossible to decrypt unless you have the encryption key which you have of course to buy from these scrupulous hackers. Ransomware is typically triggered on the opening of a file attachment within an email and with one click can completely encrypt certain files on your hard drive leaving you completely locked out from using you computer.
The only way to unlock this encryption is to pay these hackers using Bitcoin. The cost can vary depending on the infection but many users ending up spending hundreds of Euro’s in order to get their computer backup and operational again. The malware may go undetected by your security software such is its sophistication and security experts recommend having a defence in layers security strategy whereby security measures are applied in separate but overlapping protections to ensure the implementation of a solid security posture. The security layers are designed to complement each other by ensuring that a vulnerability which is not mitigated in one layer is mitigated by a different control available in another layer. The five layers of this approach are,
- Develop a Comprehensive But Self-Contained Policy
- Content Filtering Proxy for Web and Mail Traffic
- Limited-Mode Access
- Enabling AppLocker
- Continuous Awareness Training
At Hybrid Technology Partners we have experience in dealing with Ransomware like this. If you would like find out more about this layered approach and how you can mitigate against this malware and other viruses that are similar in nature then feel free to contact us on 061 211444 or 01 5310030 or email us at info@hybridtp.ie.
#cyber security, #data security, #hybridtp, #IT security, #malware
