Doctor’s Orders: Keeping Healthy from Malware and Ransomware
Welcome to the final week of Cyber Security Awareness Month
(CSAM)! This week, we will be covering malware and ransomware. No
one likes to be infected, including your devices. It is important
to know how to prevent malware and ransomware attacks to keep
yourself and your organization cyber safe!
CSAM Cyber Check-Up
Infection: Malware
Malicious software, better known as malware, is software or
code that is deployed on a device with the intention of
compromising your data or system’s confidentiality, integrity,
or availability. Malware can include viruses, worms, and
trojan software. You can be infected by accidentally
downloading malware while trying to download what you think is
legitimate software or documents.
Prevention:
- Be aware and alert when downloading software or documents.
- Always check that the web address (URL) is accurate by checking for spelling errors and misrepresented logos before clicking.
- Avoid phishing attacks. Clicking on a link or downloading a file from a malicious email is one of the most prevalent delivery methods cyber criminals use to deploy malware or ransomware on their victims. See our Week Two CSAM Article for more details on phishing.
Infection: Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that makes data inaccessible
by locking your device or encrypting your files. It can spread
from your device and infect the rest of your organization’s
data. Threat actors will often request money in return for
regaining access to your files or threaten to leak private
information if they do not receive payment.
Prevention:
- Stay up to date on trends in ransomware attacks. The latest tips and advice on dealing with ransomware can be found in the Knowledge Library.
- Backup your data regularly so you can recover data compromised with a ransomware attack.
Remedy: Malware and Ransomware
- Report the attack to your organization and law enforcement to prevent further attacks or a malware infection spread.
- Change all passwords to your online accounts. See password hygiene article for more information.
