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The WannaCry hacking’s “accidental hero”

The hack against NHS systems and other organisations across the globe last Friday (12^th May 2017) panicked many across the world, and seriously hampered our NHS’ ability to provide lifesaving care.

It has since emerged that one cyber-security expert managed to kill of the ransomware that was hacking into systems across the globe, and it was practically achieved by accident…
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Colossal NHS cyber-hack attacks systems, forcing hospitals to move emergency patients

The NHS are being held to ransom after a huge cyber-attack has thrown IT and phone systems in to chaos.

As the networking system has been crippled by malicious software, huge amounts of IT systems have been shut down to prevent further damage, seriously impacting the level of care the NHS can provide.

Cyber criminals are reportedly holding the network systems hostage for an undisclosed sum while watching the nation’s health service struggle to cope. Physicians are understood to be using pen and paper to made medical notes, and real lives are in real danger.
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Millions of WhatsApp and Telegram users exposed to ransom hacks

WhatsApp and Telegram are the latest victims to third party data hacking which saw millions of users vulnerable to having their accounts taken over and held to ransom.

Hackers utilised a weakness in images being sent through the messaging apps to hide malware that could eventually take over accounts.

Once again – no one is safe!!!
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GoldenEye malware – the “new ransomware” security threat!

Malware and ransomware has been on a sharp rise in recent years, with security researchers saying that cyberthieves are adopting them in “alarming” numbers.

The rise in these types of cyber-attacks are usually money driven.

Malware is a software that’s installed covertly onto the user’s computers and disrupts the system to allows the cyber-hacker unauthorised access to it.

There’s a ‘new’ malware on the horizon… and it’s not from an unknown territory.
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“Ransomware demands drop” – More and more cyber-attackers are demanding less; in a bid to victimise more

Cyber-hacks are becoming more and more sophisticated, and nowadays some cyber-hackers are demanding less from their victims to pay up.

Sometimes, people may feel there is no other way than paying up the ransom to gain access to your computer again. But as with most “products” or “services” there is usually a marginal propensity to pay – which is basically the willingness of someone to pay a price.

Would you pay £100 for a bottle of 2 litre milk? Probably not. Would you pay a pound for it? I’m sure you would.

Well, the hackers are employing the same tactic to make sure it’s cheap enough for people to pay as opposed to calling the police…
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New online portal offers help against ransomware attacks

Ransomware is software that blocks users having access to their computer system until a sum of money is paid. Ransomware helps to facilitate the evolution of cybercrime as it often funds more advanced types of cyber-crime software that can also be sold on to other cyber-criminals… Allowing for more cyber-attacks to happen.

The advice has been and still remains “do not pay the ransom”, if you do fall victim to hackers – by people paying the ransom they continue to fuel a vicious cybercrime circle. Even though people do pay, there is also no guarantee that people will regain access to their computer system.
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Ransomware breakthrough software: CryptoDrop!

Scientists in Florida have developed software to stop ransomware in its tracks, sources from the BBC have confirmed. According to reports, the software called “CryptoDrop” can detect malware and stop it in its tracks.

This is big news, especially for businesses who have reportedly lost millions in paying ransomware demands because it’s less costly just to pay up and move on as opposed to hours lost getting systems back online which cost organisations even more money.
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Phishing Emails know my address!

Phishing emails – every single day millions of them are received as scammers and cyber criminals try their damndest to hack our computers and take our money…

The trend right now is ransomware which is malicious software (malware) that can end up locking you out of your own computer until you pay a fee. Or, as is the case in a topic we’re blogging about today, you’re told that you OWE money to a company and have to pay them or face legal action.

Most phishing emails are so obvious that it’s hard to fall for them nowadays, but a few slip through that are quite convincing – like the ones where they show your OWN postal address in the text of the email.
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Hackers hit BBC, MSN, AOL, New York Times, and host of others with fake adverts

Just this week we were posting about the rise of ransomware, and today the news agencies are reporting of a malicious attack that has infected users with ransomware when hackers were able to take control of banner adverts that linked to malicious software.

The hackers managed to gain control of a domain that the former owners didn’t renew, meaning that legitimate ad agencies were inadvertently displaying adverts that linked to a separate page that then tried to put ransomware on to their computers.
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Ransomware on the Rise

Ransomware is on the rise, and security experts are warning businesses and individuals to take extra care in the wake of a surge in reported cases.

Essentially ransomware has the capacity to lock a user out of their own system and demand a financial ransom by encrypting data on an infected device. The decryption key is then only made available once a ransom has been paid.

It’s a clever way in which scammers are making money – and we’re not just talking a few pounds here and there. Worldwide, the total amount of money being paid in ransomware is in the millions.
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