I recently presented on session on cyber security for about 300 financial advisors and other employees of the Hantz Group. One of the topics was Ransomware. The day following my presentation, The Wall Street Journal had a front page story on the topic, describing it as a crime that is growing.
From the Wall Street Journal article:
- Ransomware attacks have quadrupled this year from a year ago, averaging 4,000 a day.
- Typical ransomware payments range from $500 to $1,000, but some hackers have demanded as much as $30,000.
- Ransomware attacks cost victims $209 million in the first three months of the year, including costs, such as lost productivity and staff time to recover files, that is an average of about $333,000 an incident.
My handout on cyber security provides three specific ways to stay safe from ransomware:
- Educate computer users about clicking on suspicious
links or popups. Sometimes these come in the form of a
package delivery notification from major brand names like
Amazon, FedEx or UPS. - Enable popup blockers. Popups are regularly used by
criminals to spread malicious software. - Always backup the content on your computer. If you are
infected by ransomware, you can have your system wiped
clean and then restore your files from your back up. Also,
because ransomware can infect all hard drives, disconnect
the backup drive when not in use or use cloud backup.
For more information about cyber security for you and your family, download my entire handout:
https://www.thelanzagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/protecting-your-family-in-the-information-age-2016.pdf