Over 200,000 victims have gone dark because of malicious software attacks on their website!
The attack began last Friday (May 12th, 2017) and is expected to continue. The victims are left without being able to access any of the files on their computer. The files are still there, they have just been encrypted so that the victims cannot access them unless a ransom is paid. According to the news, many of the organizations that were attacked where hospitals. Why would anyone attack a hospital, I don’t know. But the criminals were holding patient files hostage for $300, and if not paid within 3 days, the price would double. And if the price was still not paid, then the files would be deleted.
All of this could have been avoided with a simple (and FREE) software update.
According to BBC News, elements of the malicious software used in Friday’s attacks were part of a treasure trove of cyber-attack tools leaked by hacking troup the Shadow Brokers back in April. One of the tools contained in the leak, codenamed EternalBlue, proved to be “the most significant factor” in the spread of Friday’s global attack, according to cyber-security firm Kaspersky Lab.
The tool was said to have been created by the NSA – but the agency has neither confirmed nor denied this. EternalBlue was made public on April 14th, and while Microsoft had fixed the problem a month prior to its liak, it appeared many high-profile targets had not updated their systems to stay secure”
Don’t get caught unprepared.
Something as routine as updating your core WordPress files can help keep your website safe. And it’s something you can do yourself. There are a couple of precautions we recommend, but we can show you how to do it yourself. Just let us know how we can help.