Beware of ransomware attacks on companies!

Last week there were four attacks using “ransomware” on company and medical practices networks in the city and district of Kassel. In two cases, employees opened an alleged application email and thus started the blackmail virus. In another case, the malware used remote access to infect the computer system. Fortunately, major damage was averted through appropriate precautions taken by the company. Among other things, they had created ongoing backup copies of their data. Apart from several hours of work, the extent of the damage was minimal and those affected were protected from the total loss of their data. None of the four blackmailed companies made financial payments to the blackmailers.

The investigators from Central Commissioner 50 of the North Hesse Police Headquarters, which is responsible for cybercrime, advise caution when receiving application emails or emails of unknown origin. If possible, if the origin is unclear, they should be opened on a PC that is not connected to the company network. The software of the PC systems should be kept up to date and data backups should be carried out regularly.

Risk for private individuals too?

There are currently blackmail emails in circulation in which the recipient is personally addressed by name. It is alleged that “someone third” commissioned the perpetrators. One would have “material”/information. The aim is to “damage you as much as possible […] both financially, physically and especially emotionally and socially.”

The perpetrators, who call themselves “NOCET”, for example, send detailed descriptions of what would happen next. The options for Bitcoin payments are shown, but also the consequences if no payment is received. For an additional charge you could even get the name of the client...

Cybercrime scams are diverse. Malware , phishing , ransomeware , scareware , social engineering , etc. are terms that are often related to a criminal goal: rip-off!

MIMIKAMA Please be just as vigilant in the virtual Internet and email world as you are in traffic - reduce the risk of a virus infection, for example through:

  • an up-to-date antivirus software and firewall
  • regular and timely software/system updates and data backups
  • uses different user accounts - specifically for surfing the Internet
  • Delete suspicious emails and never click on attached links or attachments
  • under no circumstances forwards infected emails
  • never pays (ransom) money to the perpetrators. There is no guarantee that your data will be released again or that viruses will be removed.
  • If a payment has been made and you have become a victim, report it to your police.


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )