Businesses are being held to ransom by Cryptolocker

Ransomware is occurring more and more frequently as Businesses and individuals are being held to ransom over their data by criminals demanding large funds in order to decrypt it.
Here at Nexus we have dealt with a number of customers who have had their systems attacked by Cryptolocker a malicious malware attack which encrypts all of your data files. You are then held to ransom over your precious data. Another attack we have had dealings with is called Locky.
We have noticed that these particular types of attacks are happening on a regular basis. If you have a Business then you’ll understand the importance of your company data as without this you wouldn’t have an operational Business. Even if you have anti virus software installed Cryptolocker and other types of these attacks over-ride this and still have the ability to steal your data.

Paying Ransoms

• Payment is made in Bitcoins
• The ransom increases the longer you take to pay
• Upon payment of the ransom, the encryption key is provided so you can decrypt your computer files (Be aware that this isn’t always the case. There is no guarantee you will be provided with this after paying the ransom!)

Cryptolocker first appeared in 2013 and new variations are always emerging.
Locky is the nickname given to one of the newest strains of ransomware and began hitting headlines in early 2016. It was named this because it renames all your important files so they have the extension ‘Locky’.
Ransoms vary (1 Bitcoin is worth about £300).

What you can do to help protect yourself and what measures to put in place:

• Make sure you have a secure off-site backup of your data
• Paid Anti-virus protection
• Be wary and avoid visiting un-known and third party websites
• Be cautious before opening an email from an unknown sender or email attachment

If you’re a business contact us and we can arrange to visit your site, check over your system and advise on how to better protect your IT system and company data. This means that should you be a victim of an awful cyber attack such as Cryptolocker, you can rest assured that you have the adequate measures in place and an off-site backup of your company data.

Nexus has successfully been able to recover company data for Businesses held victim of these attacks however this was only possible because off-site backups were in place. We really cannot stress enough on how important it is to have an off-site backup of your data. People often think they are immune to these attacks but this definitely is not the case. Everyone is vulnerable and you need to be prepared and protected.