05/16/2017
Here's an email we send out to all of our clients this morning. Please take the time to read it and make note of the DO and DO NOT sections. Whether you know this stuff or not, we considered last Friday's attack to be serious enough to warn everyone we could thing of.
Dear Client:
Last Friday, a new ransomware virus was released and had hit nearly 100 countries by Friday evening. The attack began full-scale in Russia and spread very quickly through nearby countries, including United Kingdom and further. The current reach is estimated to be 150 countries and has affected computers in the United States since Friday.
DO UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:
- VERIFY ANY UNUSUAL-LOOKING EMAIL TO MAKE SURE IT IS COMPLETELY LEGITIMATE
- VERIFY ANY UNUSUAL-LOOKING SENDERS TO MAKE SURE IT IS SOMEONE YOU KNOW
- MOVE ANY SUSPECT MESSAGES TO THE TRASH/DELETED ITEMS
- IMMEDIATELY CLOSE BROWSERS IF A BROWSED SITE APPEARS COMPROMISED
- IMMEDIATELY TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER IF SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS APPEARS TO BE HAPPENING.
o DO NOT USE START > SHUTDOWN.
o EITHER REMOVE POWER OR HOLD THE POWER BUTTON FOR 6 SECONDS
- CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK SOMETHING MIGHT BE WRONG
DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:
- CLICK ANY UNFAMILIAR LINKS IN EMAIL MESSAGES
- OPEN ATTACHMENTS FROM UNFAMILIAR SENDERS
- CLICK WEBSITE LINKS ASKING YOU TO REDIRECT TO ANOTHER SITE
- OPEN ANY EMAIL PROMISING A GIFT, PLEASANT SURPRISE OR CONTACT FROM RELATIVE
- OPEN ANY EMAIL THREATENING ACCOUNT TERMINATION, LAWSUIT, POLICE ENFORCEMENT OR OTHER IMPENDING DOOM
Well-sourced links for more information, guaranteed to be clean:
http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/12/technology/ransomware-attack-nsa-microsoft/
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/05/14/need-urgent-collective-action-keep-people-safe-online-lessons-last-weeks-cyberattack/ .000139f710pyhf15zna2bvf051nxf
http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/hacking/microsoft-president-slams-nsa-over-wannacry-ransomware-saying-its-like-losing-a-tomahawk-missile/news-story/f2da90be997ce4923fd20dee804260bd
Other General Information
What is Ransomeware?
Good question. Ransomware is malware for data kidnapping, an exploit in which the attacker encrypts the victim's data and demands payment for the decryption key.
How can ransomeware attack occur and how does it spread?
It spreads through e-mail attachments, infected programs and compromised websites. A ransomware malware program may also be called a cryptovirus, cryptotrojan or cryptoworm. It CAN spread to other computers on a network.
What is the purpose of ransomware?
It has one purpose only – to extort money from the victim. Once the extortion is paid a decryption key will hopefully be provided restoring access to files. There is no guarantee that your files will be accessible again.
Anyone who has Windows Automatic Updates enabled will have received the required Microsoft patch, released in March, to prevent Windows from being compromised. Still, patches and updates may not protect you if a new link with modified code is released anytime in the future. Please continue to follow the above instructions at all times!
This is VERY, VERY serious. Please contact us immediately via email, phone or text if something appears to be ‘not right’.
If you are not our client and have an IT department, then consider this a public service announcement and contact your IT department via email, phone or text if something appears to be ‘not right’. If your IT department has not made you aware of this new threat please follow the links included in this email for more information and/or contact them directly.
If you are not our client and don’t have an IT department, please contact us for information on how to become a client of The Guru.
Thank You,
Richard
Hospitals, major companies and government offices have been hit by a huge wave of cyberattacks across the globe.
