One of our suppliers called us this AM. Their network was broached with a ransomware program. All their client data was swiped. We have pretty strong security and we have a continuous redundant backup program off site.

I hope you all have a way to recover your entire system if it happens to you. It's easier just to erase the infected hard drive and reinstall everything.

 

What a drag. What was the random they wanted to get the information back?

I have two external drives with all my files. I would need to reinstall Windows.

All this scam stuff is getting so bad. Sometimes I get over 25 scan calls, texts, emails per day. Some look or sound very legitimate.

Those insurance fraud ones are very well done. They know a lot of information about you. Where you live, where you work, your insurance...

I think a lot of this information is being compromised by the insurance company, your work, where you eat, etc.

 

I keep several hard drives with back ups rotating around just in case of ransomware, failure, fire, or theft. I keep more than one in case a backup drive has the ransomware too. So far, so good.

I get a threatening email a couple times a month saying I have to pay or my internet habits and images will be published to everybody on my social media. I know I don't ever visit porn sights, I always have the camera on my iMac covered unless it is a video call, and have zero social media accounts. It is all baloney and I just delete and block the address. Nothing ever happens.

I know that coming back into the United States the border control officers can confiscate your phone and legally demand passwords for social media. That has not happened to me but I know a few that it has. It is another reason I do not keep banking apps or any social media (which I do not have anywhere) apps on my phone just for events like that. All they will get are my texts from Costco what to pick up.

 

I don't know what it was. Not our company but a mfg we've done business with for many years.

 

These scam artists are constantly updating their software and methods of attack. Actually, they can be quite cleaver.

I never go to any links in emails or texts --- unless it's from someone I am presently texting or emailing. As much as it is a pain, I go to the website and find the link, there.

Recently, a lot of fake insurance heath care, licensing agency (like the DMV or professional license agencies), bank frauds. I got an email from what look like a 100% legit Wells Fargo Bank. It was about problems with my account (they knew my name). I went to Wells Fargo site and there was a warning about that specific fraud. I've even got USPS mail from Wells Fargo that was a fraud. They guys like to use banks, as targets.

For phone calls with return numbers (and some calls sound very legit) --- I just type the number into Google search. Sure enough, 99% of the numbers are frauds.

 

Backups are fine as long as the ransomware isn't on your backup!

 

That's true and why the off site redundancy and server based security.

 

I see they just got MGM too. They've shut down their entire network. Be careful with what you open.

 

I'm concerned about ransomware and malware in general. as well as direct attacks on my systems.
I agree with cosmo, I don't do anything on my phone financially.
At work if we have to do international travel, we are basically given a burner phone for the trip.
It get's flushed and reset when we get back.

for my home mail I use thunderbird which shows you the link contents when you hover on the link.
It also will not download fetchable content without approval.

 

The one thing I would not do, is let someone else (no matter how legit it sounds) --- take control of your computer.

All they need to do is put another password onto your computer, and you are in the deepest of digital doo-doo.