Ransomware Petya in action in east Ukraine (via Liveuamap)
It looks like 2017 truly is becoming the year ransomware went global. Ransomware appeared in 1989 but it was the rise of the internet that really enabled it, while anonymous payment systems like Bitcoin and vulnerability leaks from secret services gave it the final push. The goal of ransomware is simple: it takes something of you, be it your entire computer or (a portion of) your files and makes them inaccessible. Then it charges you for regaining control over your data! Yesterday, the Wallstreet Journal reported on another wave hitting global companies in Europe and the world.
Rabbit growth
Ransomware is growing like the famously fertile animals. In the last 2 years, over a third of the businesses globally have suffered a ransomware attack, with Forbes reporting that Ransomware attacks are up by a factor of 167! It is hard to miss, considering ransomware news is everywhere. After WannaCry hit the news, yesterday again a wide range of businesses all over the globe was attacked by what has been dubbed Petya. Like WannaCry, it uses an exploit stolen from the NSA, another reminder that the habit of secret services to hoard vulnerabilities rather than help fix them isn’t helping to keep our data secure.
What to do?
Of course, keeping your system up to date to keep it from getting infected in the first place is the minimum you can and should do. That is as true for desktop or mobile devices as it is for servers.
As ransomware typically attacks your data, making sure it is safely backed up somewhere is the first concern. Cloud storage solutions can be part of the solution but you have to be aware that ransomware usually encrypts files, which would be synced by the cloud services. So users need a way to roll back older versions from before the encryption; and the server owner should be diligent in their backup procedures to make sure that if that fails, there are other ways of getting data back.
Future – more targets?
Right now, most ransomware attacks target desktop systems. As it is widely known that mobile devices are far from up to date, it is not inconceivable that they’ll be the next target. Like data on desktops it is important to keep the files on mobile devices secure somewhere.
As a business, it is important to have a sound plan for dealing with ransomware attacks. Instead of putting business critical data in Google Drive or Dropbox, or discover that everything goes through insecure mail attachments ready to be encrypted by ransomware on your employee’s computer, you should build a safe, global cloud strategy with a private cloud like Nextcloud, putting your data under direct control of your IT department and its strict backup and security policies. Be sure you pick a software vendor with good security processes backed by a Security Bug Bounty program so you don’t end up paying with your data. And keep your system up to date and well configured! You can always use our Private Cloud Security Scanner to assess the safety of your system.
Organisations, small and large, need a way to ensure the resiliency and digital sovereignty of their operations – an open-source, privacy-respecting alternative to Teams. And today, we present that solution - Nextcloud Talk.
Nextcloud has been recognized with the World Summit Award Germany that selects and promotes local digital innovation improving society, aiming to contribute to the United Nations' agenda of sustainable development goals.
Nextcloud Hub 9 lets you stay connected. Discover new federation features, workflow automation, big design overhaul and much much more in your favourite open-source collaboration platform!
DIE ZEIT, a prominent German outlet, interviewed Nextcloud’s founder Frank Karlitschek for an article on Microsoft’s anti-competitive behaviour on the European office software market. Read for a recap of the article and the key takeaways.
MagentaCLOUD’s migration to Nextcloud in 2021 resulted in a fully equipped Online Storage with an integrated online office suite that further improves the user experience, flexibility and security for customers.
We bring you a major update to the Nextcloud AI Assistant, plus the news we work with several big hosting providers like IONOS and OVHcloud to bring AI-as-a-Service options to you!
Bechtle and Nextcloud announce today a complete managed collaboration platform for the public sector that requires no tender and can be deployed immediately.
Discover how to make the switch from ownCloud to Nextcloud. Our quick guide provides insights into the migration process, helping you make the transition smoothly.
Today, US-based file sync & share vendor Kiteworks announced their acquisition of ownCloud and Dracoon. Kiteworks points out that their customers now have access to their file-sharing application. It is to be expected they will not maintain 3 similar products, but customers will have to migrate to the US firms’ platform or look for another […]
As part of Schleswig-Holstein's state digitization strategy, the state chancellery has announced they will work with Nextcloud to develop AI for working with government documents. This comes just after we announced the first private AI assistant last weekend with Hub 6. The German state already uses Nextcloud and their AI strategy aligns with our work on ethical, local AI technologies.
Over the last year, AI has become a popular topic. Some is hype, some is substance. Some is good, some is bad. We want to give you the good, not the bad, and ignore the hype! AI has a ton of opportunity – but also risk. So we put you in control – off by […]
In this article, we find out how open-source AI gets you your privacy back and explore examples of reliable AI models that you can use in your ecosystem.
On December 3rd, we invite you to the Nextcloud Enterprise Day Paris, Nextcloud's flagship event for professionals. The day will kick off with a keynote by our CEO and founder, Frank Karlitschek—a highlight where he will share our vision for the future of online collaboration, followed by a major announcement about Nextcloud Talk!
We save some cookies to count visitors and make the site easier to use. This doesn't leave our server and isn't to track you personally!
See our Privacy Policy for more information. Customize
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously and help us understand how our visitors use our website. We use cloud-hosted Matomo
Matomo
_pk_ses*: Counts the first visit of the user
_pk_id*: Helps not to double count the visits.
mtm_cookie_consent: Remembers that consent for storing and using cookies was given by the user.
_pk_ses*: 30 minutes
_pk_id*: 28 days
mtm_cookie_consent: 30 days