Gò0dNews from the IT Desk
Cyber Crime: The Next Pandemic?
“I
by Todd Looper
ranian hacking group Agrius pretends to encrypt
These guys find the weaknesses in your IT setup and hit you
files for a ransom, destroys them instead”—ZDNet,
like a yellowjacket, over and over again. Firms like mine
May 2021
can help you walk through the steps necessary to end the
“Colonial Pipeline hit with $5 million Ransomware”—
various, April 2021 “Dixie Group hit with Ransomware”—various, April 2021 “Kia Motors Reportedly Told to Pay Up in Latest Ransomware Attack, DoppelPaymer is demanding 404
nightmare of these events and also avoid them totally—so call the experts first. As an IT professional, I get asked all the time, “Todd, what can we do?” There are a few basic steps that are absolutely critical to maintaining the best stance against
bitcoins worth approximately $20 million”— ZDNet, February 2021 You have seen the headlines just since 2021 began. After the craziest year (2020) in generations, and after all of humanity begged for calmness and sanity, now we get this—Cyber Crime on steroids! You are correct in thinking that this is not new, it is not new at all, but what has changed is the acceleration at which these cyber criminals are ramping up their twisted demands and skills. Over the years, it seems that these bad seeds are getting more brazen and frankly, they sometimes believe they are noble and just! Take the Colonial Pipeline incident this spring, Dark Side is the group claiming responsibility (though it is difficult to really prove), and these clowns claim to
these villains and their cyber-attacks. One, get up to date
have a mantra of stealing money from organizations that
hardware and software. Two, find a strong antivirus that
do not help the poor—actually stating that they donate
is monitored and updated. Three, backup your data in the
their bounty to needy groups. Nuts! I mean really nuts.
Cloud (one of my very favorite sayings is: “Jesus saves
Apparently, this group has been “made” and shut down by
and so should you”). Remember the Could is just someone
Interpol and others so we will see. The FBI generally does
else’s computer in a far away place so only you can find it.
not get involved with these crimes unless the demand is $1
Backing up on thumb drives or some cheapo outfit is the
million or more.
best way to be very disappointed down the road.
Local PD and the like really have no idea how to help
Reach out to me or another IT pro so that you can get
you if you are attacked. These criminals know this and we
ahead of this crimeware and what I believe is the next
have seen their ransom demands drop down below the
pandemic that will linger much more than a year!
million-dollar threshold—even down as low as $3,000-
Sources: Eset.com, Zdnet.com, and Usatoday.com
pay the ransom! If you pay up then your organization has done nothing to stop the attack from happening again.
44 // August 2021
About The Author
$4,000—so you will just be quiet and pay. By the way, never Todd Looper is the director of business development at InventureIT in Dalton, Georgia. He can be reached at 706-529-4638 or todd.looper@inventureIT.com
