URGENT SECURITY WARNING: Cryptolocker is back.

THE FOLLOWING IS A CRITICAL SECURITY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL EMPLOYEES OF ALL BUSINESSES.

PLEASE DO NOT OPEN ANY EMAIL THAT IS RECEIVED FROM ADP!

Malicious attackers are using email messages that appear to come from random names @adp.com and include an attachment that appears to be a legitimate ADP Invoice. By opening this “invoice”, you are running viruses and various other malicious attacks which are capable of making your data completely inaccessible and unrecoverable. The attackers are using email addresses and subjects that will entice users to read the email and open the attachment. A very high percentage are being targeted at small and medium-sized businesses with the hope of getting a better response than they currently get from consumers.

How will I know if my computer is infected?

If your machine becomes infected by this malicious attack, you run the risk of losing access to all data including, but not limited to, Microsoft documents, PDF Files, and Quickbooks data files. Not only on the PC that opens the attachment, but also the entire network. All data becomes encrypted and there will be no way to repair the damaged files.

How can I prevent against this type of attack?

There are many ways to prevent against a malicious attack.

1. The first line of defense is at the gateway level, an enterprise-grade UTM will scan for malicious activity before it ever enters your network and prevent any computers from being infected. 2. Enterprise-grade antivirus with updated definitions will help to see viruses and malware as they hit the PC, but prevent infection.
3. Critical Updates are a necessity for every business. All computers need to be running a currently supported operating system (i.e. Windows 7, Windows 8, etc.) and have all of the current critical updates installed.
4. BACKUP! BACKUP! BACKUP! File backups are a great start, but an image-based backup will create a snapshot of your current environment at any given time throughout the day so that there is minimal loss of data in the case of a malicious attack.

What do I do if I’m infected?
Stop what you’re doing and give us a call at 219-226-3386 so that we can inspect the computer and determine the next course of action.

What if I’m not sure?
Give us a call so that we can inspect the computer to see if there is any sign of infection.

Everything’s fine, but I’m worried about getting infected
Let’s sit down and review the four points of malicious attack prevention to see where you stand. You may have absolutely nothing to worry about, or we may wonder how you sleep at night. Either way, wouldn’t you rather know?