Recently, Comodo Threat Research Labs issued an alert indicating that it has seen an increase in phishing emails that appear to come from Amazon. Inside the message is a Microsoft Word document that curiously has no text, but springs a ransomware attack on unsuspecting users. This one is identified as the infamous Locky and uses macros to execute. The only way to get access to the encrypted files if you are not backing up your files is supposedly to pay a ransom.
The number of people affected by this scheme is unknown. However, according to research from Kaspersky Labs, about 43% of consumers who shop online don’t know what ransomware is and 37% of consumers aged 16-37 wouldn’t know what to do if they were struck. Even more in the age range of 55 and over wouldn’t know (54%).
The first lesson is to learn what ransomware is and how to, or how not to deal with it. Ransomware is a type of software that encrypts important files and blocks access to them until a sum of money is paid. There are several things to do and some you should not.
A good habit to have is to regularly back up important files and programs on your computer. This is not difficult to do and can be accomplished in a variety of ways. You can use a removable hard drive, which are relatively inexpensive these days, use a USB drive (also very inexpensive), save to a network drive, use recordable CDs/DVDs (yes, DVD drives still exist on some computers), backup to your computer if it’s a mobile device, or if it’s the only copy of the “great American novel,” you spent decades writing, print it out to paper, if nothing else.
The next habit to get into is making sure all software is updated with the latest security and critical patches. These are issued periodically and not always on a regular schedule. So if you see that little notification in the corner of your screen that an update is available, take some time to install it. Better yet, turn on automatic updates so the system does it for you.
Next, make sure anti-malware software is installed and kept up-to-date on your devices. Ransomware does not discriminate among device types. It can strike your smart phone and tablet too.
Whatever you do, don’t pay a ransom or negotiate with the hackers. Unfortunately, some people still believe this strategy will work. However, it’s not likely to be successful and not only have you lost your hard-earned money, you have also encouraged more of this behavior from the attackers.
The subject line of this particular email message says simply, “Your Amazon.com order has dispatched (#code).” Remember that if you are not expecting to receive an attachment or link from someone, don’t open or click. Often, if not most of the time these are malicious.
Unfortunately, 15% of Americans surveyed by Kaspersky said unplugging or turning off the device would stop a ransomware attack. However, this is simply not true. Once you click that document to open it, the damage is done. Implement good security practices now and save yourself a lot of stress should this happen to you down the line. Because let’s face it; everyone makes mistakes and with all the dialogue boxes popping up all the time, you get tired of them and tend to want to just click it away. However, don’t. Enabling those malicious macros will wear you out faster than that minute it takes to read the box.
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