BEWARE OF THE RANSOMWARE ATTACK!!!

Ransomware WannaCry

Dear Friends,

There is currently an outbreak of Ransomware, attacking and shutting down computers and workstations across the globe within networked organizations.

International News Media BBC reports that this attack has affected over 99 countries with Russia, the United kingdom, and China being the most largely affected and over 60,000 computers invaded as at Friday 12th May.

What is Ransomware?

· Ransomware is type of malware that prevents or limits users from accessing their system, either by locking the system's screen or by locking the users' files unless a ransom is paid

Current Presentation.

· When a system is infected, the ransomware locks up all files on the system and encrypts them in a way that users cannot access them anymore. A pop up window requesting for a ransom and instruction on how to pay will be displayed.

How does the malware work and who is behind it?

• The infections seem to be deployed via a worm - a program that spreads by itself between computers.
• Most other malicious programmes rely on humans to spread by tricking them into clicking on an attachment harbouring the attack code.
• By contrast, once WannaCry is inside an organisation it will hunt down vulnerable machines and infect them too.

For the safety of your systems and workstations, the following precautionary steps would greatly help:

1. Do not open any suspicious or strange email.

2. Delete all suspicious emails without opening its content.

3. Do not download attachments from suspicious websites or emails.

4. Even when the user is known, attempt to verify the content of a suspicious mail or attachment before opening, as user's email or workstation might have been compromised.

Let us exercise the highest level of caution.

Thank you