The FBI has released an official alert on the "WannaCry" Ransomware outbreak.
They have confirmed that there have been tens of thousands of WannaCry ransomware infections world-wide and that it has also hit the United States.
According to the FBI, "Initial reports indicate the hacker or hacking group behind the WannaCry campaign is gaining access to enterprise servers either through Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) compromise or through the exploitation of a critical Windows...vulnerability." Another possible source of infection is through phishing emails. Once onto a PC the ransomware infection spreads itself across the network. So, please do not use personal computers on company networks without clearing it with your IT department first.
This FBI Flash Alert has been issued as a "white" alert cleared for public distribution. You can view the full report here.
Through a unique deployment method, this ransomware infection seems to outsmart anti-virus engines. The best protection is to make sure your system is fully patched and backed up (at this point we believe there is no protection available for Windows XP machines).
Please note: Clients of Fairoaks IT that are on a service plan have their covered PC's updated on a daily basis so no action is required.
Please let friends and family know of the severity of this attack. As a community, the more we can keep this contained the quicker it will go away.
I will let you know updates as we become aware.
What To Do !!! Click here to see my earlier post.
As always, if you have any questions, please call me at 508-543-5540. And if you want to get more informed on what you can do to protect your business with this free report: "12 Little-Known Facts Every Business Owner Must Know About Data Backup, Security and Disaster Recovery" (/backup/). It contains practical tips and suggestions every business can use.
Tom Crossley
