Thread: Global Ransomware Attack

Yes. Australian businesses coming to life shortly!

From early accounts, same unpatched out of date Windows vulnerability as the last one (Wannacry). This makes it a bit hard to be sympathetic!

An extensive cyber-attack is underway across the world, affecting critical and non-critical systems in Europe, America and Asia. It is expected Australia will be impacted.

The attack is similar to the recent WannaCry ransomware attack. The virus gets into computers and systems through email containing links or files. If those are opened it downloads the ransomware to the computer.

It is possible, and likely, that various emails and domains will be used to send the attack and these may be sent to you / anybody.

You must be vigilant about the emails you open and the links and files you click.

Important things to remember:

• if you do not know the sender, do not open the email
• if you have opened the email and it looks odd, do not click on links or files
• hover over every link to check where it will take you before you click—even if you know the sender (hovering will show the link destination)

We are not aware of this having affected any Australian forums. Let's hope it stays that way !

business have noone to blame but themselves.
the patch for this has been out for 90 days.

Business's should be using operating systems that are not vulnerable to virus, trojan, malware, spyware or ransomware...

It has been this long road around the world where microsoft sells ice to eskimos and the eskimos lap it up... Or should I say they are selling a perfectly good used bridge to people living on flat country....

I have seen two issues of infection with linux, since my first use of it back before it was GPL licensed... Yet I still see business's that need security, using a system that is quite unsafe and money orientated only...

Most people dont realise it but linux is what nearly all of the internet is run on... and a perfect example of what happens when you remove major parts of the security from linux is Android...

And the best thing I like about LInux, its free for home users and can install to nearly any architecture(computer system types)...

If you think its hard to learn, consider this... One eyed Harley rider(yes two wheel, two cylinder tractor driver), fitter in mines and totally non accepting of anything, can learn to use, then learn to install and setup linux for others, in about 4 years of playing and complaining because I would not teach him hands on but just tell him and let him learn... Can get that good he shows me things, then anybody can use it...PS he's in his late 50's too...

linux = heart bleed

Originally Posted by Wraithe

Business's should be using operating systems that are not vulnerable to virus, trojan, malware, spyware or ransomware...

It has been this long road around the world where microsoft sells ice to eskimos and the eskimos lap it up... Or should I say they are selling a perfectly good used bridge to people living on flat country....

I have seen two issues of infection with linux, since my first use of it back before it was GPL licensed... Yet I still see business's that need security, using a system that is quite unsafe and money orientated only...

Most people dont realise it but linux is what nearly all of the internet is run on... and a perfect example of what happens when you remove major parts of the security from linux is Android...

And the best thing I like about LInux, its free for home users and can install to nearly any architecture(computer system types)...

If you think its hard to learn, consider this... One eyed Harley rider(yes two wheel, two cylinder tractor driver), fitter in mines and totally non accepting of anything, can learn to use, then learn to install and setup linux for others, in about 4 years of playing and complaining because I would not teach him hands on but just tell him and let him learn... Can get that good he shows me things, then anybody can use it...PS he's in his late 50's too...

Not going to happen. IT departments have to justify their existence somehow.

Originally Posted by johntins

Not going to happen. IT departments have to justify their existence somehow.

Thats just it, stability makes sense and techs are still needed... Computers didnt get rid of employees, just added and moved them...

Servers require constant monitoring, thus techs are needed...

Our local shire changed to Linux a few years back when a friend of mine was working there, now there system is stable and the new tech is busy enlarging what they have, for the last few years...

I may have had an influence there as I was experimenting with a system for the local SES (Politics killed the idea) and the shire tech said that they wanted there system to be windows complient to the SES...
Took me a few months of building and discussing things with him, then the SES project was canned but the Tech got me to show him what it could do and how the servers work, thus he grabbed it and ran like the wind...He built a beautiful system, and then because of the Linux training, pulled the pin, left town and last I heard was earning 100,000 plus a year working part time...

Originally Posted by Wraithe

Business's should be using operating systems that are not vulnerable to virus, trojan, malware, spyware or ransomware...

It has been this long road around the world where microsoft sells ice to eskimos and the eskimos lap it up... Or should I say they are selling a perfectly good used bridge to people living on flat country....

I have seen two issues of infection with linux, since my first use of it back before it was GPL licensed... Yet I still see business's that need security, using a system that is quite unsafe and money orientated only...

Most people don't realise it but linux is what nearly all of the internet is run on... and a perfect example of what happens when you remove major parts of the security from linux is Android...

And the best thing I like about LInux, its free for home users and can install to nearly any architecture(computer system types)...

If you think its hard to learn, consider this... One eyed Harley rider(yes two wheel, two cylinder tractor driver), fitter in mines and totally non accepting of anything, can learn to use, then learn to install and setup linux for others, in about 4 years of playing and complaining because I would not teach him hands on but just tell him and let him learn... Can get that good he shows me things, then anybody can use it...PS he's in his late 50's too...

In most cases the issue isnt' really the operating system as such, it's the social engineering that's the security problem.

Even in a Linux environment you could easily infect the computer with any virus, if the user isn't aware of what they're actually doing.
it should be remembered that the reason for the propagation of this type of attack isn't that the OS has faults, it's that people are allowing the threat to reach those faults.

Obviously makes more sense to target the Windows environment where most users are at, especially in a corporate sense .. give them a file they think they need to open to view, and bam! .. infection.
if Linux were the primary OS used globally in a home environment, it wouldn't be hard to hide the attack just needing a password .. unknowing user enters password and infects the system with whatever.

The problem is that people really don't like the effort required to add passwords, and they want instant access to all files in the network at all times too.

Because Linux is more of a niche market segment, it's generally populated by folks that know something about computers .. so it's not really worth sending 10 billion emails just to capture that one solitary Linux computer user that has no clue on the concept of security.

One of my sisters had a ransomware virus after trying to open a PDF, maybe a year ago now.
She just assumed it was an invoice, opened it and bam! .. all files were encrypted.
I looked for a fix of some type .. didn't think it was recoverable .. we dumped the PC after a few days and she simply had to start again.
I keep telling her to invest in a remote file system(NAS) to help protect any files 1/. from such attack again, 2/. backup purposes /3. safe remote access when needed and backed up to another device at her home.
She has a new PC now that simply flies, all new files and is happy .. doesn't think there's any need to do more about it!

The main issue with Linux is software. While it's great that there's almost certain to be an alternative program for whatever Windows program is the preference .. it's not the same thing as having the program you prefer to use.

for me it's OziExplorer, some image editing software and a few other tidbits.
Until software devs realise this and cater to alternative OSes, nothing will change.