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Ransom paid to hackers who stole data from at least six UK universities

• raxxorrax 6y ago
  Paying a ransom often doesn't lead to data restoration, but if it does, it is still a mistake since you support the practice that way. Couldn't read the article in full but universities are probably easy targets, since many people have direct access to devices. Different kinds of breaches are possible, but I would have a guess: An employee opened the wrong mail and his account had too many rights for too many folders and files and the malware began encrypting stuff in the background. If that wasn't the case here, it is often the case for companies. The employee isn't at fault. Attackers often have credible contact information and know how to make a mail look valid. Even experts have difficulty filtering these. I think the best defense is actually a solid backup system. There are admittedly somewhat expensive solutions ready on the market that can do snapshots of all your devices every 15 minutes and can restore lost files with a few clicks. Doesn't mean you shouldn't put up additional defenses, but in my experience this is the most effective part for mitigating potential damage. Instead of paying the ransom, you just restore the files yourself and the attack has lost most of its effectiveness.