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VersaTrust Blog

VersaTrust has been serving the Texas area since 1997 , providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

This has been a tough week regarding security breaches, specifically with more ransomware variants hitting many businesses. The first link below details a Verizon breach with a heavy dose of irony, in that the Verizon division that helps Fortune 500 companies respond to data breaches has itself suffered a significant breach. The second is link to an article regarding another hospital being hit with the new Locky ransomware and being held hostage.

 

These threats are real and dangerous, specifically the new Locky ransomware. It not only encrypts critical data but also spreads itself to other computers on the network, exponentially increasing the collateral damage. This means that it will encrypt data on each computer that it infects as well as encrypt the data on any shared server drives that the infected user has access to. A business could have a single system compromised with Locky, then is spread to several other computers potentially encrypting HR, Accounting, executive or other highly restricted data at the same time based on the level of access the infected employee has been granted.

 

Again, the infections are introduced via clicked links in emails so are very avoidable…yet they continue to happen. Employee vigilance is paramount. A bulletproof backup strategy is the only way to recover from these infections.

Recent security breaches:

Verizon Breach – http://fortune.com/2016/03/24/verizon-enterprise-data-breach/

Locky Hospital Breach – http://krebsonsecurity.com/2016/03/hospital-declares-internet-state-of-emergency-after-ransomware-infection/