Empowering individuals and organizations to have a safe digital lifestyle and IT infrastructure, Trend Micro underlines OfficeScan, the only security solution that defends against ransomware, a rising threat to enterprises.
Trend Micro Philippines recently had a media briefing with select media about this serious security threat. In New England, a small company with about 24 employees was victimized by ransomware, forcing the startup to pay USD 500 just to open its financial data. This happened after an employee clicked on a malicious site that infected the entire IT system. This is just one of the many unfortunate stories brought about by ransomware. At any time, it can hit startups in the Philippines. At any time, it can paralyze big businesses and worse, the economy.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malware that prevents or limits users from accessing their system and forces its victims to pay the ransom through certain online payment methods to grant access back into their systems. On the other hand, crypto-ransomware, a specific ransomware, locks up affected systems and encrypts key files found on the system’s hard drive. It was determined that Cryptolocker, a variant of crypto-ransomware, was able to extort USD 10,000,000 from victims until authorities disrupted the source in May 2014. This is just one example of how ransomware has “cyber-bullied” businesses. In a recent report taken from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, ransomware victims lost a total of 18 million USD in just 15 months.
Below are some tips on that users must bear in mind in line with likely attacks:
Backup your files regularly – the 3-2-1 rule applies here: Keep three backup copies of your date in two different media, and one of those copies in a separate location. For example, save files on one cloud storage, one hard drive, and one disc or tape for maximum safety. Make this a quarterly habit.
Bookmark your favorite websites and access only via bookmarks – attackers can easily slip malicious codes into URLs, directing unwitting users to a malicious site where ransomware could be downloaded. Bookmarking frequently visited, trusted websites will prevent you from typing in the wrong address.
Verify email sources – while this practice could be tricky, it always pays to be extra careful before opening any link or email attachment. To be sure, verify with your contacts prior to clicking.
Update security software – employing security software adds an extra layer of protection from all possible points of infection. Specifically, it prevents access to malicious websites hosting ransomware variants. More importantly, it detects and deletes ransomware variants found in the system.
Trend Micro’s OfficeScan 11 Service Pack 1 is the only security solution available in the market today that takes on a new approach in combating ransomware. OfficeScan looks for the ransomware behavior so it doesn’t depend exclusively on signatures or a specific removal tool. It monitors for any suspicious file encryption activities at the endpoint and stops the malicious encryption activity by terminating or quarantining the process. This new version of OfficeScan is a critical component of the Trend Micro Smart Protection Suite, which deliver even more gateway and endpoint protection capabilities like application whitelisting, vulnerability shielding, encryption, data loss prevention (DLP), and more in a single compelling package.
“Ransomware is a particularly dangerous type of malware because its impact to a user or business is grave,” says Macky Cruz, Technical Communications Manager from TrendLabs. “While tips and tricks and preventive measures may help, it is of paramount significance to ensure that apt security solutions are in place to have the peace of mind that critical IT assets and devices are protected. Trend Micro takes pride on being the only company that offers ransomware protection focusing on behavior to enterprises via OfficeScan which provides endpoint security technology with real-world protection.”
