technology
strategy – including the provisions for cybersecurity.
“Cybsersecurity is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses,” he said. “It’s vital to invest in technology at the right level to stay ahead of the threat.
“It needs to be led by the chief executive and C-Suite and not left to middle management. You don’t have to know the ins and outs and the exact details but you do need to know the key points. If you stay on top of those you will make sure the right investment is made and the right decisions are made – you can’t delegate that to a junior manager.
“Companies that really get the technology side and investment in technology get taken to a whole new level.”
Tim Walker, MD at Aura, added: “All businesses need to ensure staff are vigilant, but a trusted managed IT provider will ensure all of these measures are in place to minimise risk. There are costs involved, but they are nothing like the financial, logistical and emotional fallout of a system breach.”
To find out more about how to protect your business against cybercrime, download Aura’s ransomware guide at
auratechnology.com/the-business- guide-to-ransomware/
* Aura Technology’s survey data of 2,000 UK adult respondents was conducted by market research company OnePoll, members of the MRS, in accordance with the Market Research Society’s code of conduct.
SOME COMMON RANSOMWARE THREATS
• Cerber: Targets cloud-based Office 365 users and has impacted millions of users using an elaborate phishing campaign.
• Crysis: Can encrypt files on fixed, removable, and network drives and uses strong encryption algorithms and a scheme that makes it difficult to crack within a reasonable amount of time.
• CryptoLocker: Ransomware has been around in some form or another for the past two decades, but it really came to prominence in 2013 with CryptoLocker. Since then, hackers have widely copied the CryptoLocker approach, although the variants in operation today are not directly linked to the original. The word CryptoLocker has become almost synonymous with ransomware.
• CryptoWall: Gained notoriety after the downfall of the original CryptoLocker. It first appeared in early 2014, and variants have appeared with a variety of names, including CryptoBit, CryptoDefense, CryptoWall 2.0, and CryptoWall 3.0.
• CTB-Locker: The criminals behind CTB-Locker take a different approach to malware distribution. These hackers outsource the infection process to partners in exchange for a cut of the profits. This is a proven strategy for achieving large volumes of malware infections at a faster rate.
• Jigsaw: Encrypts and progressively deletes files until a ransom is paid. The ransomware deletes a single file after the first hour, then deletes more and more per hour until the 72-hour mark, when all remaining files are deleted.
• LeChiffre: The name comes from the French noun “chiffrement” meaning “encryption”. Le Chiffre is the main villain from James Bond’s Casino Royale novel who kidnaps Bond’s love interest to lure him into a trap and steal his money. Cybercriminals automatically scan networks in search of poorly secured remote desktops, logging into them remotely and manually running an instance of the virus.
• Locky: Spread in an email message disguised as an invoice. When opened, the invoice is scrambled and the victim is instructed to enable macros to read the document. When macros are enabled, Locky begins encrypting a large array of file types.
Could my business be a ransomware victim?
Ransomware perpetrators cast a wide net and often target small to medium-sized businesses with IT security loopholes and a modest budget to pay for the ransom.
If data is important to your business, then you are a target. The most common route is via a “phishing” email to staff – and they can be relentless, repeatedly trying until a breach occurs.
Robust IT systems are essential to counter the threat. As part of its Technology Roadmap process, developed in house, Aura Technology’s security specialists assess an organisation’s resilience to ransomware alongside the performance of its existing infrastructure, identifying issues or opportunities for improvement before recommending a bespoke solution.
Aura Technology
auratechnology.com 03333 208 601
tim.walker@auratechnology.com
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
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