Criminal hackers have released a new strain of ransomware that spreads itself automatically across all workstations in a network, causing a global epidemic.
If you or a co-worker are not paying attention and accidentally open one of these phishing email attachments, you might infect not only your own workstation but immediately everyone else’s computer too.
The initial infection was stopped on Friday, but it has since been rewritten and is again spreading in the wild.
There are 200,000 confirmed infections in over 150 countries as of this afternoon.
While most of the damage has been in Europe, Russia and Asia, there are over 6000 confirmed incidents in North America.
According to CrowdStrike’s Vice President of Intelligence Adam Meyers, the initial spread of WannaCry is coming through phishing, in which fake invoices, job offers and other lures are being sent out to random email addresses.
Within the emails is a password protected .zip file, so the email uses social engineering to persuade the victim to unlock the attachment with a password, and once clicked that initiates the WannaCry infection. Microsoft confirms this in a blog post.
Be very careful when you get an email with an attachment you did not ask for. If there is a .zip file in the attachment, do not click on it but delete the whole email. Remember: “When in doubt, throw it out!”
At The ITeam we work hard to ensure your networks are protected. Technology cannot stop every threat, and the last line of defence is alert and educated users.
Please share this information within your organization and outside your organization as you see fit. If your company requires IT support in Calgary, call us for a quote.
Calgary, Alberta – May 2, 2017 – The ITeam Ltd., Calgary’s leading source for Managed IT support and cloud services is pleased to announce that the company has been ranked in the 2017 CDN Top 100 Solution Providers in Canada, demonstrating The ITeam’s dedication to providing clients with superior service and support of top cloud solutions.
The Top 100 Solution Providers is an annual ranking produced by Computer Dealer News (CDN), the voice of the IT solution provider community in Canada since 1987. The ITeam ranked #100. A complete list of the Top 100 rankings can be found here: http://www.computerdealernews.com/top-100-solution-providers/top-100.
“We are honoured to have been selected as one of CDN’s Top 100 Solution Providers in Canada. The ITeam has worked diligently to enhance our cloud services to provide our clients with the most comprehensive, customizable, and cost-effective cloud solutions possible,” said James Wagner, President of The ITeam. “Our Calgary-based company is known for our commitment to quality.”
About The ITeam
The ITeam has been delivering quality IT results for over 20 years. As the shift to cloud computing has enabled businesses to be more nimble and capable of meeting customers’ needs, The ITeam has worked to provide the necessary support, security strategies, and partnership required to make the transitions easier. The ITeam delivers cost-effective, comprehensive, customized solutions to clients.
About Computer Dealer News
Computer Dealer News (CDN) — the voice of the IT solution provider community in Canada for more than thirty years — is the most widely read and trusted source of information for Canadian channel executives. Providing insightful commentary on technology products and services and covering the key players that are impacting this segment, CDN also delivers a critical analysis of the competitive landscape detailing both the challenges and opportunities facing solution providers. Each year, CDN connects with IT solution providers across the country to collect data for an industry benchmark report which, once compiled, presents an overview of this market segment as well as trends.
Social engineering is an IT security threat in which psychological manipulation is used to trick people into divulging information that should not be provided.
And criminals who implement social engineering scams are patient.
They will work slowly to gather all of the data they need, accessing information on a company’s website, as well as on personal and professional social media profiles.
They will even phone a company to surreptitiously gather necessary information.
This information is then used to perpetrate scams that are so well-developed that they seem legitimate.
Social Engineering in Organizational Setting
Social engineering in the organizational setting is used to create more effective spear phishing emails.
Specific people in the organization are targeted (based on the research gathered) to successfully trick recipients into wiring money, releasing password information, or clicking on links that result in ransomware threatening your network.
Why Is Social Engineering So Successful?
By doing a little more homework, cybercriminals are able to craft email messages that elicit an emotional response from the recipient.
Common tactics include:
Posing as the CEO and expressing displeasure to someone in the finance department in regards to an unpaid invoice. The ensuing fear response over being in trouble with the boss may cause that person to wire money without ensuring that the invoice is real.
Pretending to be a colleague who desperately needs information to finish a project. The sense of urgency created can cause the recipient to divulge the information without making sure the sender was really who they claimed to be.
Pretending to be a vendor, coworker, or boss who needs something done quickly that would require opening a file or clicking on a link.
In each case, the success of the attack comes from knowledge.
The criminal knows enough about the sender to make the request seem legitimate while creating a false sense of urgency or fear to cause an immediate response (click the link, send the money, provide the secure information).
There’s No App for Human Error
Security is about trust.
Do you know who you’re communicating with?
Do you know where you’re really sending money or information to when responding to email messages?
Every organization struggles with addressing the one gap in security they can’t patch with software or an app: the human element.
How To Prevent Social Engineering
So how do you help your employees avoid being exploited by social engineering scams?
First, you keep as much of the email from reaching them as possible. Then, you hold employees accountable for having restraint.
Implement firewalls and virus protectors as a first-layer solution.
Add threat detection and malware detection to sift out more attacks.
Use a hosted email solution and email security protocols that keep the worst of the attacks from reaching the recipients.
Establish policies to prevent immediate actions that might compromise security:
Require two people to authorize a wire transfer.
Have strict policies regarding what kind of information can be transmitted by email; require the recipient to verify by phone and provide the information by phone if legitimate, to avoid data loss.
Require stringent employee passwords that are changed regularly.
Limit information access to only essential personnel.
Have offsite data backup and recovery solutions so that if the worst does happen, you can quickly recover and minimize downtime for your customers.
Hold employees accountable for breaching policies designed to prevent such attacks from succeeding.
The ITeam is dedicated to helping Calgary- and Alberta-based businesses avoid these sophisticated attacks. We do this by providing essential IT support and customized services designed to meet the needs of your business. The ITeam will work with you to develop a cost-effective and comprehensive flat-rate IT strategy that will help you thrive. Contact us for a free consultation.
By now, we’re all familiar with the threat of ransomware, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of all spam.
One wrong click on a seemingly legitimate email and your network is held hostage.
Until you pay a ransom to the cyber hackers who managed to catch the unlucky email recipient off guard, your network remains vulnerable.
What Is Locky?
Locky is the latest ransomware to wreak havoc and works.
It contains a hidden JavaScript file in the attachment that evades most common malware detection software because it appears to be a harmless file.
Locky has proliferated so quickly that it now accounts for more than 16 percent of all ransomware attacks.
While the U.S., Japan, and France have been the most severely targeted, Locky has made its way to Canada.
Canadian businesses must take precautions against the threat.
How Does Ransomware Work?
Ransomware works by creating fear.
The messages are usually designed to make the recipient of the email believe that the email was sent by someone they trust.
It makes the recipient believe that the action needed to take (opening the file or clicking on the link) is necessary to conduct business and that it is an urgent matter.
Cyber hackers are clever, so businesses have to be constantly on alert.
In addition to implementing robust email security as well as offsite backup and recovery solutions, the most important step is to immediately warn staff.
It is easy to be fooled by emails that seem to be coming from legitimate sources, and once the person has clicked on the link or opened the file, there is no recovering.
Employees must learn to treat every email with caution and follow the ITeam Email security guidelines every time.
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Calgary, Alberta – May 2, 2017 – The ITeam Ltd., 
