A new and dangerous variant of the original CRYPTOLOCKER (which brought an estimated $23 million to the bad actors) is on the loose. This malicious software is infecting machines through advertisements found on major sites such as Facebook, Disney, The Guardian and many others. The software gains final entry to a system via UNPATCHED software such as Flash, Internet Explorer, Java or Silverlight. Once infected, your most commonly used documents become encrypted/useless until you pay a ransom....get the full story here.
As part of our Systems Management Program, we automatically patch 3rd party software, this being only one layer in our multiple layer approach to managing systems and network security. With Cryptowall exploiting unpatched software, this is yet another reminder of the importance of updating/patching your software and having a reliable backup solution in place.
Latest US-CERT Released Warnings