Technophilia TECHNOLOGY NEWS & VIEWS DWAYNE BRAGONIER Back to Backup Basics Screen lockers do exactly what their name suggests: they lock
up your whole system, not just your browser. Many of these have official-looking pop-ups that appear to be from the FBI, for example, stating that illegal activity has been traced to your com- puter. It tells you that a fine must be paid to unlock your system. Running your antivirus soſtware from a bootable system device or a system restore will usually return your system to normal. Encrypting ransomware is wicked. It encrypts your files and demands payment to decrypt them. Antivirus software or system restore will not work. You either pay the ransom or you wipe your systems clean and restore from backup. In its September 2016 Threat Report, Intel Security noted that ransomware attacks are up 3,000% since 2012. It is only logical that ransomware will soon start to hit devices that we normally don’t think of as computers: cars, cellphones, Android-powered smart TVs and Internet of Things devices, to name a few.
I
T’S APRIL 28, and Jack has finalized the last of his 30 clients’ personal tax returns. The only thing left to do is to efile. “Phew,” he thinks. “I’ve survived another tax season.” Just
before he signs out, he clicks a joke in one of his emails and a message pops up. “Your files are encrypted by CryptoLocker. You only have 96 hours to submit payment. If you do not send money within the provided time, all files will be permanently encrypted and no one will be able to recover them.” Jack’s been hit with ransomware — soſtware that’s designed
to block access to a computer system until a ransom has been met. He can’t efile any returns because his network is encrypted. The threat of ransomware is real, and it affects both individu-
als and organizations. Unfortunately, ransomware doesn’t give you many options. You can cut your losses or pay the bounty. And even if you pay, you might not get your files back.
Types of ransomware Yesteryear’s viruses have morphed into nasty malware designed to extort money from its victims. Scareware, for example, will freeze your browser, show you a message claiming you have malware and will tell you that the only way to get rid of it is to buy and run a specific antivirus soſt- ware. A quick scan from your existing antivirus software will identify and remove this ransomware from your system.
26 | CPA MAGAZINE | MARCH 2017
Ransomware prevention Your teams should be taught to recognize the dangers of opening attachments from unknown people, and to avoid click- ing on suspicious links. Remind them about phishing scams, where cybercriminals try to gain information by disguising themselves as reputable organizations. And encourage common sense. If it seems like it might be suspect, it most likely is. Next, incoming email must be scanned and filtered to block
all known threats. A must-do in today’s environment is to ensure your operating system has all patches applied so all known oper- ating and application code security weaknesses are eliminated. Running a well-known malware scanning software will mini- mize the chance of a ransomware attack. Finally, be prepared with a data backup system. Most of us
have become lax with our backup as equipment failure is infre- quent these days. Only proper backup solutions can ensure access to your files in the case of a ransomware attack. No matter how tedious, you need to create, review and update
the backups of your data on a regular basis. You can use USB drives to save new or critical files for immediate access when time delays can’t be tolerated — just remember to physically disconnect the USB drive aſter each use so it can’t be infected with ransomware.
DWAYNE BRAGONIER, CPA, CA, CITP, CA•IT, is president of BAI Bragonier & Associates Inc. and the founding architect of the BAIWay (
dwayne.bragonier@
bragonier.com)
Photo: Jaime Hogge
Illustration: Magoz
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72