Thrifty Thinking: Protect Yourself from WannaCry

Hundreds of thousands of people across 150 countries have been impacted by the WannaCry ransomware, and new variations of the ransomware are already cropping up. This includes over 10,000 organizations, including FedEx and the National Health Service. Europol has called the cyber attack ‘unprecedented.’
Here, Karl Volkman, cyber security expert and CTO of SRV Network, Inc. tells concerned citizens how to protect themselves.

1. Get the facts. “Many people don’t understand exactly what is going on and whether or not they should be worried. If you are running Windows 10, the answer is yes, you should be worried. But, even if you are using an older version of Windows, you can still be impacted. WannaCry has demanded ransom payments in bitcoin from those infected in bitcoin…No matter what, do not pay the ransom ($300), as there is no guarantee you will get access back from these criminals.”
2. What should you do? “Microsoft has released a patch for users. You must get in contact with them, and make sure you know what operating system you are using, as there are different patches for different versions of Microsoft.”
3. So, are you safe now? “Sort of,” says Volkman. “It is important to do the patch right away, but once completed, don’t tune out and think you are 100 percent safe. There will likely be another attack soon, one that works around the patch, so Microsoft will have more important updates for your computer soon.” 
4. What else can you do to protect yourself? “Always do any updates that your computer or device requests, even if you are Mac user. This latest attack proves that cyber dangers are frighteningly prevalent and becoming more insidious every day. So do your updates, back up your computer, and always tell your operating system when you are on a public Wi-Fi as it will close up vulnerable ports.”

And a reminder. “Remember, don’t pay the ransom,” urges Volkman. “In fact, it seems highly unlikely that it will be possible to ‘de-bug’ infected systems from a remote location, so even if you don’t pay, your information will not be decrypted.