Lincolnshire Council’s information systems were held to ransom on Tuesday, 26 Feb – for £1m to reinstate access. The breach was caused by a member of the council clicking on a link within a spam email.
So what can you do so it doesn’t happen here?
University “Managed Service” computers will have security updates installed automatically. However, if you are using a ‘department’ or ‘project’ computer then extra caution is required. If you are unsure – contact IS on ext 7777 for advice.
- Backup your important data to your Google drive. If it’s already on your Google drive then you should be OK. If your data is really critical to you then copy to an external drive. Ask your service delivery manager for advice.
- Don’t click email attachments, especially if you’re not expecting it.
- Make your computer safe. Invest in an anti-virus or anti-malware software from a reliable company.
- Update the operating system, security programs and other applications need to be kept updated or they just don’t work properly. Make sure the automatic updating is turned on.
- If you’re a victim of ransomware attack – don’t panic and don’t pay. The payment won’t guarantee that your data will be restored.