WannaCry

On May 12, 2017 a new strain of ransomware named WannaCry began spreading widely impacting a large number of organizations across the globe, including India.

Wanna Decryptor, also known as WannaCry or wcry, is a specific ransomware program that has been found locks all the data on a computer system and leaves the user with only two files:

Instructions on what to do next; and anna Decryptor program itself

What is the Impact?

When the software is opened it tells computer users that their files have been encrypted, and gives them a few days to pay up, warning that their files will otherwise be deleted.

It demands payment in Bitcoin, gives instructions on how to buy it, and provides a Bitcoin address to send it to.

Following are some Do’s and Don’ts to be followed to protect against such Ransomware:

 Don't open attachments in unsolicited e-mails, even if they come from people in your contact list, and never click on a URL contained in an unsolicited e-mail, even if the link seems benign. In cases of genuine URLs close out the e-mail and go to the organization's website directly through browser.

Don’t forward or reply to junk email or hoax message

Don’t click on the links embedded in spam mails 

Don’t expose your official email address on public websites such as search engines, contact directories, membership directories, newsgroup postings or chat rooms

Do ensure applications and operating systems are kept up-to-date with the latest software patches.

Do ensure computer systems are running antivirus software with the latest antivirus signatures. If, infected immediately disconnect your computer from the network by pulling the LAN cable.

Do scan all email attachments for viruses before opening them, especially those files with extensions .exe, .com, .doc, etc.

Do ensure that you have the backup of your critical data and incase your computer is infected please do not attach the backup drive unless your computer is clean.

Do send emails to the authorized recipients only

Do follow safe practices when browsing the web. Ensure the web browsers are secured enough with appropriate content controls.

Thanks and Regards 

Team INFORMATION RISK,