Tracking Ransomware Attacks

At the beginning of July, a ransomware attack on IT management company Kaseya's VSA systems by REvil, became big news after influencing over 1500 companies and millions of devices. 

It took 19 days before they had a solution that they received from a "trusted third party." It's believed that Kaseya got the decryptor either from paying the ransom or from the US or Russian governments. 

Unfortunately, ransomware attacks are becoming more common. To see more data on various known attacks, Information is Beautiful put together a great interactive visualization. 

via Information Is Beautiful

It's impossible to protect yourself completely, but there are a lot of simple things you can likely be doing better. 

• Use better passwords... Even better, don't even know them.  You can't disclose what you don't know.  Consequently, I recommend a password manager like LastPass or 1Password who can also suggest complex passwords for you. 
• Keep all of your software up to date (to avoid extra vulnerabilities)
• Don't use public wifi if you can help it (and use a VPN if you can't)
• Have a firewall on your computer and a backup of all your important data
• Never share your personal information on an e-mail or a call that you did not initiate - if they legitimately need your information, you can call them back
• Don't trust strangers on the internet (no, a Nigerian Prince does not want to send you money)
• Hire a third-party security company like eSentire or Pegasus Technology Solutions to help monitor and protect your corporate systems

How many cybersecurity measures you take comes down to two simple questions ... First, how much pain and hassle are you willing to deal with to protect your data? And, second, how much pain is a hacker willing to go through to get to your data?