On Tuesday late afternoon in the Eastern Time Zone, companies in Europe began contracting the latest version of the deadly Ransomware Virus. Code-named, Golden-Eye, this virus will infect the hard drive and then force a reboot of the computer. This then renders the hard drive unusable and requires a $300 BTC (BiTCoin) payment.
As of 7:00pm EDT on June 28th, 1 bitcoin is valued at $2,567.35 US Dollars. So, the current value of $300 in Bitcoins is $770,205.00 US Dollars.
Approximately, 45 businesses paid the ransom in the first 18 hours.
According to an article in the New York Times* on 6/28/17, “Microsoft said the attack had originated in Ukraine, where hackers first targeted M.E.Doc, a tax-accounting software company, and the ransomware soon spread to at least 64 countries.” The first set of machines attacked were running older versions of Microsoft Windows (i.e. Vista, XP) and affected more than 12,500 machines in Ukraine alone. The infection then spread to Russia, Poland, Italy, France, Spain, India, Australia, Norway, USA, & Germany.
Several private companies have confirmed that they were struck by the attack, including: Merck Pharmaceuticals, WPP (British Advertising Firm), Mondelez International (American Food Company who manufactures Cadbury Chocolates), MARS Candy (a subsidiary), and FedEx (a subsidiary, TNT Express).
So, how do you protect yourself against a possible infection?
First, make sure that your computer is updated with the most current Windows Updates. Your computer should be running Windows 7, 8, or 10. If you have a computer with Windows 98, XP, or Vista, you need to upgrade immediately. Most security software products will not provide protection for older operating systems.
Second, invest money in a paid security software product. These products provide more than just Anti-Virus protection. They also provide Anti-Malware, Anti-Spam, Firewall, and Anti-Ransomware solutions. Remember, it can be peace-of-mind to invest some money to protect your documentation (data).
As of 7:00pm EDT on June 28th, 1 bitcoin is valued at $2,567.35 US Dollars. So, the current value of $300 in Bitcoins is $770,205.00 US Dollars.
Approximately, 45 businesses paid the ransom in the first 18 hours.
According to an article in the New York Times* on 6/28/17, “Microsoft said the attack had originated in Ukraine, where hackers first targeted M.E.Doc, a tax-accounting software company, and the ransomware soon spread to at least 64 countries.” The first set of machines attacked were running older versions of Microsoft Windows (i.e. Vista, XP) and affected more than 12,500 machines in Ukraine alone. The infection then spread to Russia, Poland, Italy, France, Spain, India, Australia, Norway, USA, & Germany.
Several private companies have confirmed that they were struck by the attack, including: Merck Pharmaceuticals, WPP (British Advertising Firm), Mondelez International (American Food Company who manufactures Cadbury Chocolates), MARS Candy (a subsidiary), and FedEx (a subsidiary, TNT Express).
So, how do you protect yourself against a possible infection?
First, make sure that your computer is updated with the most current Windows Updates. Your computer should be running Windows 7, 8, or 10. If you have a computer with Windows 98, XP, or Vista, you need to upgrade immediately. Most security software products will not provide protection for older operating systems.
Second, invest money in a paid security software product. These products provide more than just Anti-Virus protection. They also provide Anti-Malware, Anti-Spam, Firewall, and Anti-Ransomware solutions. Remember, it can be peace-of-mind to invest some money to protect your documentation (data).
Third, invest money in a cloud-based backup solution to protect your data. Local systems can be infected, too, so a cloud-based backup is key.
Lastly, talk to your IT Professional about other solutions that may provide additional protection for your business.
As you are skilled in your trade, your IT Professional is skilled in the areas of safeguarding and protecting your business and data against unwanted intrusions and infections.
Elite Networking & Consulting is offering current and new customers, a package of a 1-year combination license of data backup and security software protection, for $100 per computer. This package is not designed for network servers. The software package can be installed remotely with payment by credit card. If you have a FREE version of security software (i.e. Avast Free, AVG Free, Norton FREE, etc.), you should consider investing $100 in protecting your data (documents, photographs, music, videos, tax returns, etc.). Pricing may be lower for business plans.
Please contact Elite Networking & Consulting at service1@elite-nac.com or 855-767-9685, ext. 700.
* New York Times article, quoted above:
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/technology/global-ransomware-hack-what-we-know-and-dont-know.html?mcubz=0