Article

Practical Cybersecurity for Law Firms: How to Batten Down the Hatches

September 25, 2017

Excerpt: We’re quickly approaching 2018 and a week doesn’t go by without another variant of malware causing havoc across the globe. First it was the WannaCry ransomware worm, which infected more than 230,000 computer systems in over 150 countries demanding ransom payments in exchange for the decryption of files. More recently, a new variant using code from the Petya ransomware (named “notpetya”) struck first in Ukraine followed by other European countries and disabled critical utility services such as the radiation monitoring system at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, as well the affecting the countries’ banks and metro systems.

What caught the attention of lawyers was that an apparent infection in one of DLA Piper’s European offices brought the law firm’s normal operations to a halt. As we write, the extent of the damage is still unclear.

The times have changed since Cryptolocker first ran wild in 2013, but the results are still as devastating. The costs of ransoms have significantly gone up from a few hundred dollars to the $1,000+ plus range now for the decryption key to unlock the affected files – and more than half of those who pay up do not receive the decryption key. So much for honor among thieves!

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