{"id":12272,"date":"2017-07-06T12:02:06","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T17:02:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firewalls.com\/blog\/?p=12272"},"modified":"2020-05-22T08:51:38","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T13:51:38","slug":"ransomware-warfare-protect-files-from-hostage-takers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/ransomware-warfare-protect-files-from-hostage-takers\/","title":{"rendered":"Ransomware Warfare: How to protect your files from hostage takers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ransomware represents one of the greatest threats to your data with studies indicating that ransom takers are specifically turning their focus towards smaller networks. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/features\/2016\/04\/27\/cyber-attacks-on-small-businesses-on-rise.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fox Business <\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">claims that 43% of ransomware targets in 2015 were small to medium-sized businesses. With the recent trouncing received by the IT world at the hands of WannaCry, network invaders are becoming emboldened to encrypt your data and stash it away until you pay up. And with a staggering <a href=\"https:\/\/www-03.ibm.com\/press\/us\/en\/pressrelease\/51230.wss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">70% of business owners deciding to fork over the money<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the incentive is strong. Ransomware is making a killing and your network may be next in front of the firing squad. But with the right know-how and cyber security culture in your office, you can survive the bloody war against malware.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_12028\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12028\" style=\"width: 398px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SunTzu.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-12028\" src=\"https:\/\/www.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SunTzu.png\" alt=\"Firewalls Ransomware 101\" width=\"398\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SunTzu.png 448w, https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SunTzu-300x205.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12028\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.&#8221; &#8211;Sun Tzu, about ransomware<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b>How to Stay Safe<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>File Backup &amp; Recovery Process<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Businesses often become so wrapped up in the fight against malware that they forget the old-fashioned dangers of the world: floods, fires, famines (okay, maybe not so much), break-ins, mobile devices dropped down airplane toilets, tablets crushed in a fit of furious rage following a nasty Yelp review. The list goes on. Luckily, your IT department has years worth of readily available file backups, right? Just as we continue practicing tornado drills and fire evacuations, we should perpetually practice procedures for catastrophic data loss. Understand your recovery process and ensure that file backup is delegated to an accountable party. If the worst should happen and you find your files locked away by the Ransomware Bogeyman, you can let out a sigh of relief knowing that multiple copies of your precious data are stowed away in the closet or on the cloud.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Encryption<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did you know that banks leave thousands of dollars in cash just sitting on the street corner every day? Yes, ATMS nationwide go unrobbed routinely because they are locked down tighter than Fort Knox. Good news! This approach can work for your data as well. By encrypting the data on your network, you can prevent network intruders from walking away with your files even if they manage to force their way into the system. Imagine the look on a burglar\u2019s face when he walks into a house where everything is locked up in heavy-duty safes. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Disable Macros<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Microsoft disabled the automatic execution of macros in email attachments years ago, and for good reason. An example of social engineering, some phishers will attempt to persuade users into enabling macros on email attachments. If ever you are encouraged to enable macros, the request should be treated as more than a red flag. It\u2019s a whole red flag factory. Double-check that your email settings have disabled macros.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Attachments<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The classic rule of thumb for attachments is to never open one if you\u2019re unfamiliar with the sender. VBA droppers are an increasingly common delivery system for ransomware and can be packed away within several layers of file types like Russian nesting dolls or a data-thieving turducken. Even if you receive a harmless PDF file, that PDF file can hold an executable to launch a Microsoft Word file, which in turn is setup to launch an RTF file, and so forth until a VBA Dropper lands on your computer before you know what\u2019s happened. So yes, it is time to have another all-hands meeting to drone on and on about not opening attachments from strangers. Seriously, your users are still opening suspicious attachments. Right this second (probably). <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Administrator Access<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your custodian doesn\u2019t require administrator-level access to your network. In fact, very few of your employees should be given this level of clearance. The reason why? If attackers do manage to break in, you don\u2019t want all of your users walking around with skeleton keys. Mitigate potential damage to your system by ensuring that employees are able to access and utilize the tools they need without requiring administrative access. For a better look at how <strong>not<\/strong> to tighten up your administrative model, <a href=\"https:\/\/nakedsecurity.sophos.com\/2017\/06\/21\/nsa-failed-to-implement-security-measures-says-damning-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">check out how the NSA took a crack at it.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>System Updates &amp; Patches<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WannaCry was a painful learning experience for many network administrators. For those of you still unaware, Microsoft released a patch that prevented the exploits targeted by WannaCry on March 14, 2017, a full two months before the May 12th ransomworm tore the world a new one. There is a very solid line separating those affected by the worm and those that were not: those of us who made it out unscathed (all of Firewalls.com\u2019s customers, btw) kept our security patches up to date!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/chessking_edited.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12030 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/chessking_edited.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"395\" height=\"267\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/chessking_edited.jpg 878w, https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/chessking_edited-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/chessking_edited-768x520.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 395px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 395\/267;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The war against ransomware is never-ending and we understand if morale is low. But your network is too important to leave to chance. The data doesn&#8217;t lie: ransomware attacks are on the rise and their campaign is turning towards small and medium-sized businesses. Let Firewalls.com be your private army in the battle against ransomware. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re mean. We\u2019re lean. We\u2019re bad guy fighting machines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a class=\"wpex-theme-button red\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/ManagedServicesBrochure-Complete.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-size: 18px;\">LEARN HOW FIREWALLS.COM CAN PROTECT YOUR NETWORK<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ransomware represents one of the greatest threats to your data with studies indicating that ransom takers are specifically turning their focus towards smaller networks. Fox Business claims that 43% of ransomware targets in 2015 were small to medium-sized businesses. With the recent trouncing received by the IT world at the hands of WannaCry, network invaders [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[284,68],"tags":[100,117,63,74,64,116,75],"class_list":["post-12272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-networking-tips","category-weekly","tag-cyber-security-culture","tag-how-to","tag-malware","tag-petya","tag-ransomware","tag-tips-tricks","tag-wannacry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ransomware Warfare: How to build an organization&#039;s cyber security culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ransomware is the great threat of 2017 and if your organization does not understand how to prevent an attack, you may be next on the list.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/ransomware-warfare-protect-files-from-hostage-takers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ransomware Warfare: How to build an organization&#039;s cyber security culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ransomware is the great threat of 2017 and if your organization does not understand how to prevent an attack, you may be next on the list.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/ransomware-warfare-protect-files-from-hostage-takers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Firewalls.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/firewallscom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-07-06T17:02:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-05-22T13:51:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/FeaturedImageRansomware_Dark-1024x609.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"609\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Harmon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@firewallscom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@firewallscom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Harmon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/ransomware-warfare-protect-files-from-hostage-takers\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/ransomware-warfare-protect-files-from-hostage-takers\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andrew Harmon\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/8e89a2f96065af1717d00dfd06dca962\"},\"headline\":\"Ransomware Warfare: How to protect your files from hostage takers\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-07-06T17:02:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-22T13:51:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/ransomware-warfare-protect-files-from-hostage-takers\/\"},\"wordCount\":868,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/ransomware-warfare-protect-files-from-hostage-takers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/staging.firewalls.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/FeaturedImageRansomware_Dark.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cyber security culture\",\"how-to\",\"malware\",\"petya\",\"Ransomware\",\"tips &amp; 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