WannaCry – the Gift that Keeps On Giving?

If you enjoy receiving gifts, you probably won’t like the offerings of WannaCry, the ransomware that attacked over 75,000 PCs last month. In fact, it’s more of a taker than a giver. The ransomware stormed through NHS organisations, 90% of which still use Windows XP, and demanded ransoms in the form of bitcoins. Those who refused were denied access to data and some Trusts shut down IT systems to minimise damage. People were warned to only go to A&E in emergencies, while some patients lost out on appointments and the incident could accurately be described as a disaster.

Are you ready for round two?

Microsoft has pushed out another security patch – this time proactively, rather than reactively. They have also warned that there could be another attack in the near future, which explains why they’re willing to patch the normally unsupported Windows XP OS. Microsoft have stressed that they won’t be returning full support to Windows XP, but is that relevant if they keep having to create more security patches in the event of malware emergencies?

Hopefully the patches will be enough to stave off another attack, but malware – and those who develop it – is becoming more insidious each day.

Data security is (rightly) at the forefront of many organisations’ minds this year, particularly those dealing in sensitive data and particular those dealing with upcoming changes to regulatory compliance such as GDPR.

It’s not just operating systems that become old, defunct and unsupported. Look at all of your communications systems from telephony to email to fax; and analyse your document management and archiving solutions. Are they up-to-date? Are they secure? Or are they vulnerable? Many organisations find that they’re in desperate need of an upgrade, or an entirely new system, but don’t get round to taking action until it’s too late. Will you be one of those organisations?

For more information on how to protect your data, contact us via phone at 01962 835053 or email at enquiries@processflows.co.uk.