Don't pay WannaCry demands, cybersecurity experts say

[Equinox Moon]

Source: The Guardian

Nearly one in three of the organizations that paid did not recover their files.

“You really are rolling the dice if you choose to pay a ransom, and your chances aren’t good,” the researchers found.

“The moral and ethical challenge is the ‘we don’t negotiate with terrorists’ line we’ve all seen in movies,” he said. “We feel that’s the right approach, but we are also presented with losing valuable personal memories like photos and videos – or, in the case of businesses, important documents or financial data.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/15/dont-pay-ransomware-demands-cybersecurity-experts-say-wannacry

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. Always always always have three copies of all files.

Ideally one in the computer, one offline in a cupboard, and one off-site, such as in a bank safe deposit box or with a trusted friend. A bank vault safe deposit box will likely protect against EMP (heaven forbid). Cycle the backup drives about once every month or two, not much more. If you can afford to lose two months of your life, fine. If you are doing important client work from home, maybe cycle the backups once a week.

The offsite one protects against fire and theft, and also against errors when trying to restore in a rush from the one in the cupboard. People have been known to reformat the backup drive instead of the target by error. Another error is to connect a backup drive to an infected computer and find the backup is encrypted as soon as you do.

Back up your cell phone regularly to your computer so that information, contacts, and imagery gets onto the three-copy group.