How might it happen to you?

Ransomware

The managing partner at a private medical practice switched on his PC on a Monday morning to be greeted with a message stating that all patient records held on their network had been encrypted and demanding a payment of £30,000 in bitcoin in exchange for the encryption key.

He contacted an IT forensic specialist who confirmed the level of encryption, and confirmed that the only alternative to an encryption key would be wiping the ransomware from the network, risking the loss of all other critical data as part of the process.

The last data backup was performed a week ago, meaning a significant amount of recent data was at risk, so they had no option but to pay the bitcoin ransom to protect their confidential data.

They also engaged the forensic specialist to remove the remaining malware from their network at a cost of £10,000.

Denial of service attack

An international real estate client experienced a denial of service attack on their IT systems which was not only operationally damaging for the company, but also had the potential to severely impact upon its brand and market standing.

The insurance policy not only covered the loss of income but also provided cover for PR expert support to mitigate any reputational damage.

Data ransom

An employee from a chain of opticians received an email to say that she had been caught speeding and clicked the button which offered to show a photograph of her being caught in the act. Shortly afterwards they received an email from someone in Russia to say that they had infected their systems with the Cryptolocker virus and that all files on its servers were encrypted.

The encrypted files included patient records and software used to run the business. The Russians were asking for £400 in Bitcoins for the decryption key. The insurers approved payment of the ransom. Unfortunately this only recovered 90% of the files and they needed an IT contractor to help them recover the remainder.

Their insurance policy covered this business interruption as well as the costs of being unable to trade for a couple of days and not being fully up-to-speed for a couple of weeks. Total cost was £60,000.

Data breach

An unencrypted memory stick was lost. It had been provided to a potential buyer as part of the due diligence process during a corporate acquisition transaction when it was stolen along with the owner’s handbag from a public place. It contained personal and sensitive data of over 500 employees including home addresses and bank details. A fine was levied by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and significant costs were incurred. In this scenario, the insurance policy allowed the firm to engage expert data risks or protection lawyers, liaise with the ICO and inform affected employees.

System hack

Hackers gained access to a Wholesalers email system and sent emails to all of their customers purportedly from either the Chairman or Finance Director saying that the Company has changed its bank details. Considerable time was spent contacting over 200 customers to tell them to ignore the email as it is not true. Several had already changed their records.

Virus

An Engineering Client had a virus planted into their system and were unable to use their IT for 5 days whilst their IT support resolved the problem. Cost to rectify, £22,000 and all accounting, invoicing, stock control was affected, no payments could be made or received and it coincided with monthly payroll time which delayed paying the employees.

System breach

Client suffered an IT breach where 400,000 fake credit card statements were sent to their customers and other companies throughout the UK. The I.T. costs to rectify the damage plus estimated loss of revenue cost £24,000.

SOPHOS

Liquid Computing are proud to associated with SOPHOS, a leading provider of products that help secure the networks used by 100 million people in 150 countries and 100,000 businesses, including Pixar, Under Armour, Northrop Grumman, Xerox, Ford, Avis, and Toshiba.

As IT networks grow in complexity, we’re focused on working with SOPHOS to keep IT security simple and reliable. A proper security strategy must include networks, servers and devices—all devices—managed easily through the cloud.

 SOPHOS products allow us to to secure every end point of your network, from laptops to virtual desktops and servers, to web and email traffic and mobile devices. What’s more, securing these devices is made possible through products that fit your precise needs. We ensure your network’s security by providing the one thing no one else can: Simplicity.

Liquid Computing are a SOPHOS Silver Solution Partner.

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Ransomeware

What is Ransomware

(source: Wikipedia)

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to the victim's data and threatens to publish or delete it until a ransom is paid. While some simple ransomware may lock the system in a way which is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, more advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion, in which it encrypts the victim's files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.

Ransomware Example

The managing partner at a private medical practice switched on his PC on a Monday morning to be greeted with a message stating that all patient records held on their network had been encrypted and demanding a payment of £30,000 in bitcoin in exchange for the encryption key.

He contacted an IT forensic specialist who confirmed the level of encryption, and confirmed that the only alternative to an encryption key would be wiping the ransomware from the network, risking the loss of all other critical data as part of the process.

The last data backup was performed a week ago, meaning a significant amount of recent data was at risk, so they had no option but to pay the bitcoin ransom to protect their confidential data.

They also engaged the forensic specialist to remove the remaining malware from their network at a cost of £10,000.

Data Ransom

What is Ransomware

(source: Wikipedia)

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to the victim's data and threatens to publish or delete it until a ransom is paid. While some simple ransomware may lock the system in a way which is not difficult for a knowledgeable person to reverse, more advanced malware uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion, in which it encrypts the victim's files, making them inaccessible, and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them.

Data Ransom Example

Am employee from a chain of opticians received an email to say that she had been caught speeding and clicked the button which offered to show a photograph of her being caught in the act.

Shortly afterwards they received an email from someone in Russia to say that they had infected their systems with the Cryptolocker virus and that all files on its servers were encrypted. The encrypted files included patient records and software used to run the business. 

The Russians ere asking for £400 in Bitcoins for the decryption key.The insurers approved payment of the ransom. Unfortunately this only recovered 90% of the files and they needed an IT contractor to help them recover the remainder. Their insurance policy covered the business interruption as well as the costs of being unable to trade for a couple of days and not being fully up-to-speed for a couple of weeks.

Total cost was £60,000.

Data Breach

What is a Data Breach

(source: Wikipedia)

A data breach is the intentional or unintentional release of secure or private / confidential information to an untrusted environment. Other terms for this phenomenon include unintentional information disclosure, data leak and also data spill. Incidents range from concerted attack by black hats associated with organized crime, political activist or national governments to careless disposal of used computer equipment or data storage media.

Data Breach Example

An unencrypted memory stick was lost. It had been provided to a potential buyer as part of the due diligence process during a corporate acquisition transaction when it was stolen along with the owner's handbag from a public place.

It contained personal and sensitive data of over 500 employees including home addresses and bank details. A fine was levied by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and significant costs were incurred. In this scenario, the insurance policy allowed the firm to engage expert data risks or protection lawyers, liaise with the ICO and inform affected employees.

Virus

What is a Virus

(source: Wikipedia)

A computer virus is a type of malicious software program ("malware") that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code. Infected computer programs can include as well, data files, or the "boot" sector of the hard drive. When this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" with a computer virus..

Virus Example

An Engineering client had a virus planted in their system and were unable to use their IT for 5 days whilst their IT support resolved the problem.

Cost to rectify £22,000 and all accounting, invoicing  stock control was affected, no payments could be made or received and it coincided with monthly payroll time which delayed paying the employees.

System Hackers

What is a Virus

(source: Wikipedia)

A security hacker is someone who seeks to breach defenses and exploit weaknesses in a computer system or network. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, information gathering, challenge, recreation, or to evaluate system weaknesses to assist in formulating defenses against potential hackers. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground.

Virus Example

Hackers gained access to a Wholesalers email system and sent emails to all of their customers purportedly from either the Chairman or Finance Director saying that the company has changed its bank details. Considerable time was spent contacting over 200 customers to tell them to ignore the email as it is not true. Several had already changed their records.

System Breach

What is a System Breach

(source: Wikipedia)

A security hacker is someone who seeks to breach defenses and exploit weaknesses in a computer system or network. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, information gathering, challenge, recreation, or to evaluate system weaknesses to assist in formulating defenses against potential hackers. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground.

System Breach Example

Client suffered an IT breach where 40,000 fake credit card statements were sent to their customers and other companies throughout the UK.

The IT costs to rectify the damage plus estimated loss of revenue cost £24,000.

Denial of Service Attack

What is a Denial of Service Attack

(source: Wikipedia)

In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack where the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connected to the Internet. Denial of service is typically accomplished by flooding the targeted machine or resource with superfluous requests in an attempt to overload systems and prevent some or all legitimate requests from being fulfilled.

Denial of Service Attack Example

An international real estate client experienced a denial of service attack on their IT systems which was not only operationally damaging for the company, but also had the potential to severely impact upon its brand and market standing. The insurance policy not only covered the loss of income but also provided cover for PR expert support to mitigate any repetitional damage.