Latest ransomware attack shows need to keep systems current
Do you work for a company that still uses Windows XP because there’s a crucial piece of business software that only runs on the 16-year-old operating system? If so, your Monday morning may not be the most productive due to a global ransomware attack called WannaCry. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the concept of ransomware, it’s a piece of malware that not only infects your computer, but encrypts your files and does not allow you to access them until you pay the hackers holding your system hostage a ransom that it paid through the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. So far, WannaCry has infected over 200,000 systems in 74 countries including a large Spanish telecom and the National Health Service in the UK. In the US, courier service FedEx has said that a portion of their systems have been infected as well.
The attacks started this past Friday and a security expert was able to find a vulnerability in WannaCry, but since then a new version of the malware has been spotted out in the wild. Since the new version of WannaCry went out during the weekend, a number of companies could be infected and not even know it until they start booting up machines today. The malware was designed specifically to exploit a vulnerability in a number of Windows-based operating systems based on an NSA spy tool that was released to the public by another group of hackers. Windows released a patch for the exploit, even for Windows XP which stopped receiving regular updates from Microsoft in 2014, but many systems unfortunately remain unpatched. Both the US and UK governments are urging those infected with WannaCry to not pay the ransom, which is said to be around $600 USD per infected machine. There is no guarantee that your files will be released once the ransom is paid.
If you are still running Windows XP at home, you’re running a machine that is ripe for the pickings by malware and ransomware. As previously mentioned, since Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft you are no longer receiving any security updates. There are many free to low-cost alternatives to running XP, such as running a more secure Linux operating system. If you’re a business still using XP because the software needed to run your business only works on XP, it is highly recommended that you upgrade to a more current operating system like Windows 10. While it may be saving you money now to keep using the antiquated OS, in the long run it could cost you your entire network. There are simple and low-cost ways to run XP exclusive programs and applications in Windows 10. Lastly, if you think that you’d rather press your luck against such attacks remember this: it only takes one employee to click on one bad attachment to bring your entire operation to a grinding halt.
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