Ransomware is Infecting the Aloha State too

Ransomware is Infecting the Aloha State too

Ransomware attacks are escalating, as indicated in various recent news reports. 

But this is not just happening "out there", somewhere else, like on the mainland or overseas. One of my small business clients on Hawaii Island was hit last week by a ransomware attack. 

Email link from Hell 

My client had clicked on a bogus email link*, then his computer was infected. The infection encrypted his files, effectively locking them up. 

He got a note from the criminals promising to unlock his files if he paid the equivalent of $450 in bitcoin. He consulted with me and we decided to not pay. 

His rationale? He had all his files backed up online. Plus he wanted to set up a new computer anyways, so he proceeded to download all his backed up files to the new laptop. 

Later we'll wipe his infected hard drive and reload his operating system, Windows. This should clean out the infection. 

Online backup salvation 

He was lucky. He was using an online backup service, which I can't recommend highly enough for all my clients, especially businesses. I recommend Mozy.com. 

Test your backups 

Be sure to test your online backup at least monthly by restoring one or more of the backed up files. 

You can read more about ransomware on my blog post here: 

https://cybersecurity808.blogspot.com/2015/06/watch-out-for-ransomware-attacks-theyre.html

And here's a recent article on a ransomware attack in Indiana:

http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/11/indiana-county-government-shut-down-by-ransomware-to-pay-up/

Thanks for reading.

Sam

---

If you haven't already, you can subscribe to our email tips by visiting www.kokuadigital.com and entering your name, email, and "add to email list" in the request form, then click Send.

*93% of all phishing emails contain encryption ransomware, per PhishMe, Q1 2016 Malware Review, June 2016.