We recently issued a warning about a series of ransomware threats to companies primarily in the Northamptonshire area of the East Midlands, and we can now confirm that another company has fallen victim.

Northants and regional cyber police are investigating the ransomware attacks that have targeted local businesses. Due to commercial sensitivities the names of the businesses cannot be mentioned, however, it is important to be extra vigilant at this time whilst this latest spate and source are investigated.

Every strain of the ransomware has so far been different, although there is a common theme between the setup of these organisations and how threat actors are leveraging this to perform their attacks.

Threat actors employ various methods to deliver ransomware, such as malicious attachments or links in emails; pirated software websites, Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks, free file hosting sites, and third-party downloaders. They also use fake software updates and Trojans to infect computers with malware.

Ransomware is increasingly being deployed by attackers who have gained access remotely via exposed services such as Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), or unpatched remote access devices.

To prevent the risks of attack, organisations should:

• disable RDP (if it’s not needed)
• enable multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• use a VPN that meets NCSC recommendations
• use least privilege model for providing remote access
• patch all known vulnerabilities.

The NCSC has an in-depth guide on their website entitled 'Mitigating malware and ransomware attacks', and we have numerous blogs on the topic of ransomware, including a basic guide to ransomware: Ransomware: What you NEED to know.

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Reporting

Report all Fraud and Cybercrime to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or online. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report SMS scams by forwarding the original message to 7726 (spells SPAM on the keypad).