Most of the time yes. Usually the attack happens through virtual ports that have been opened by malicious programs that have been downloaded from the Internet. Another very common way is through incoming e-mails with attachments or links to sites strategically designed to harm users. Your computer can become vulnerable by the simple fact of opening the attachment or clicking on the malicious link.

Hackers often leave threatening messages on affected machines and servers. However, if the data is not important or if you have a backup, if you format your computer and take care not to get hacked again, nothing will happen. There is a new type of computer attack where criminals steal your information and if you don’t pay the ransom, they threaten to spread your information across the Internet and the Deep Web.

A simplistic answer would not be able to explain this matter. But let’s just cover a few topics on the subject below. Without a doubt, the ideal is to hire a consultant or professional specialized in the cybersecurity field.

• Organization – A good way to start prevention is to organize and document networks, computers, and systems. Having a good documentation of the IT park can help a lot in the prevention process. Be aware of what software is allowed and used. Create rules so that ordinary users do not install any program on the computers. Know who are the computers, laptops and cell phones that have access to the physical network and Wi-Fi in your home or business.
• Strong passwords – Don’t use the same passwords for everything. Avoid birth dates and birthdays. If possible install a password manager that will always suggest and store a password with a high level of difficulty to crack.
• Security Solutions – A good security solution includes in its toolkit a good antivirus and a number of other tools with the purpose of reporting, preventing and neutralizing cyber-attacks. The value of a safe, as well as the time and security apparatus invested in protecting it, is directly linked to the list of items you intend to keep inside. If you have very valuable data on your computers then make an equivalent investment to protect your information.
• Effective backup policies – Have a good backup policy. Regrettably we have had cases where a client being attacked by ransomware was quite reassured that their backups were up to date. However, when returning the backup files, it was discovered that they were also encrypted by the ransomware. Also remember that a backup is always a second copy of the same information. Making a copy of the information on an external disk and then deleting the information from the computer’s hard drive does not make it a backup. Nowadays there are very secure ways of performing backups. Data center redundant backup policies are the best.
• Be careful with email – A lot of bad stuff can get into computers through email. Establish policies so that the e-mails used in the company are only for professional purposes. You can also configure security applications to not allow links and files attached to e-mails to be downloaded, opened, or accessed.
• Beware of software cracking programs – Software cracking programs are always from dubious sources. But what are they and what is the purpose of these programs? Imagine that you download the demo version of a certain program. But after a few days of use, the program stops working because the demo period has expired. The way to continue using the program is to buy a legal copy of it. But usually there are sites on the Internet that can provide you “free” software that will crack your program to make it work as if you had bought the original version. Be very careful with these programs. You cannot believe that someone would create such a program and not want anything in return. If this program opens a virtual door in your computer to be accessed after 6 months you will never suspect that the attack came from a trojan horse that entered your computer six months ago.

Just as in a grand theft there is a high level of planning, so too in a cyber attack.

For a burglar to break into a house, someone has to open the door or he has to find a way to bypass the security systems. In the same way a hacker will try to get a partner inside your computer to open the door for him to enter. These accomplices can be dubious programs downloaded from the Internet or sent by e-mail. If he is not able to infiltrate these “accomplices” the job will be much harder.

Once the program is installed on the user’s machine, the user is responsible for opening the door and informing the hacker that he has a machine available for hacking. Once this is done, the data encryption process begins.

After attacking the victim, the ransomware can easily spread to infect machines on the network, mainly aimed at servers. If servers are affected, the entire company will be affected, suffering great damage.

Yes, holidays and weekends are the days of choice for cyber attacks. The reason for this is because on holidays and weekends there are far fewer people active in computer network security.

In 2020 alone it is estimated that payments of more than 500 million dollars occurred for ransomware attack cases.

Normalmente eles utilizam RSA [Rivest-Shamir-Adleman]-2048 e AES [Advanced Encryption Standard] com 256 bits.

In 29% of cases, the invasion happens by downloading an infected program or file or clicking on a hacked link. Next, with 21% of cases, is the attack via RDP [Remote Desktop Protocol], which is a means of remote access to Windows machines.

Currently it is Ragnar Locker that uses the Windows virtual machine system to perform infections and encrypt files and databases in the environment.

High consumption of processing, memory, and disk access are suspicious behaviors that need to be investigated thoroughly in order to assess whether an attack is underway.

Not at all, unfortunately. In 2020, 65% of ransomware attacks affected data in the cloud. So having the data in the cloud doesn’t mean it’s actually protected.

In 15% of the attacks that occurred in 2020, administrators were able to stop the propagation process even after the intrusion was successful, thus preventing further damage to the environment.

Yes, there are insurance options on the market for the cyber attack niche, usually the keywords “digital risk protection” appear in the policy description. Due to the high number of cyber attacks, in some countries such as France, insurers are removing ransomware from insurance coverage.