Imagine arriving at the office one morning to find typewriters have replaced all of the computers. You would probably think you had stepped into a time machine and were transported to the 1960s. However, this was a reality for a government office in a suburb of Anchorage, Alaska earlier this year.
On July 24, 2018, the borough of Matanuska-Susitna detected malware on several internal servers. Nearly 500 of the borough’s computers and 120 of its 150 servers were encrypted with ransomware. This cyber attack locked numerous government workers from their email accounts and phone networks and prevented residents from performing simple tasks such as making online payments or using credit cards at local libraries and animal-care facilities.
This is just one of many recent cyber attacks. In fact, there were 668 data breaches reported in the US during first six months of 2018. Last year, there were 1,578 data breaches and 179 million exposed records reported, making 2017 a record year for the highest number of cyber crimes reported in the U.S.
October officially marks the 15th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month. National Cyber Security Awareness Month was created as a joint effort between the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to ensure everyone has the resources needed to protect themselves and their personal information online.
As Cyber Security Month comes to a close, we’d like to share a few resources to help keep you informed.
- How To Avoid Cyber Attacks: 5 Best Practices From SEC And FINRA
- Sophos Threatasaurus – a 100-page guide coverings all types of cyber threats.
- Cyber Security Initiative’s Global Cyber Definitions Database is comprised of 400 cyber and information security related definitions from around the world.
Netrality has a rich ecosystem of service providers that offer a variety of security solutions. If you’re interested in learning about which of our customers offer security services as we’d be happy to connect you.
