Beware of ransomware

Author of the Demystifying Cybercrime series and Women in Tech books Conference Speaker and Cybercrime specialist

COLUMN

Technical advancement and interconnectivity are creating more opportunities for cybercrime; it’s big business. This regular column will explore various aspects of cybercrime in an easy to understand manner to help everyone become more cyber-safe.

Ransomware is a type of cybercrime that often makes the news, and for good reason. A ransomware incident can cripple a business, disrupt healthcare, destroy years of research and, take a lot of time and money to recover from. In 2020 a patient at a hospital in Germany lost their life when ransomware disrupted the emergency care. The investigation found the ransomware did not cause the death, but the fact that ransomware can cripple critical care systems is alarming.

A type of ransomware known as Ryuk, which has been around since at least 2018, recently caused the loss of a week’s COVID-19 research data at a European institute, and also disrupted healthcare at two US medical facilities. In May 2021 a fuel pipeline in the US was disrupted by ransomware, in an incident attributed to a group called Darkside. Ransomware can impact large and small businesses, charities and individuals, directly and indirectly. WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM RANSOMWARE?

• Ensure you keep up-to-date offline backups of your important files. • Take care not to open attachments in unsolicited emails or those that prompt you to run macros to view them. • Do not click on links in unsolicited emails. • Keep your operating system and software patched. • Use only official legitimate sources to download software. • Use a reputable and up-to-date anti-virus software.

If you have been impacted by cybercrime in Australia you can report this via https://www.cyber.gov.au/ acsc/report. In other countries, report it to your local police or through the relevant cybercrime reporting mechanism.

Ransomware is big business – stay safe.

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