Bizz3228 learns ransomware lessons

RANSOMWARE and internet security were among the subjects discussed at Bizz3228’s latest networking function, held at RACV Torquay Resort last week.

Nick Clift and Jeni Clift from DWM Solutions – which has an office in Torquay – were the guest speakers at the event.

Bizz3228 has first-hand experience with targeted online attacks, with their website hacked only a few weeks ago (but since fully restored).

Mr and Mrs Clift spoke about their experiences in helping their clients deal with ransomware, which infects computers through malicious code and effectively holds a user’s data for ransom, to be paid in cryptocurrency.

The WannaCry ransomware attack affected as many as 400,000 computers around the world earlier this year.

Mr Clift said the average ransom paid was between $500 and $1,200, with ransoms sometimes doubling each day until payment.

“Australia’s one of the highest-paying nations – I have no idea why we trust people so much, but we pay the most ransoms. About 30 per cent of ransoms get paid, and of those, only 50 per cent get their data back.

“The medical industry seems to be the target at the moment; anything that holds client data that if you don’t have access to it and you have a legal obligation, you’ve got a problem.”

Mrs Clift said the number one rule was “think before you click”, and it was essential to educate staff about how to spot a malicious email.

“There’s always one person in the business who will click on anything,” Mr Clift added.

Other important steps a business can take to protect itself include setting up email gateway filtering software, installing up-to-date anti-virus and anti-malware software, and having an offsite backup to enable data to be restored in the event of an attack.

“If I have a client come to me who says ‘I’ve been crypto’d”, I just say “write off your data, you aren’t getting it back,” Mr Clift said.