Hacked!

A recent cyber attack caused chaos around the world. How did the drama unfold – and how can you protect yourself?

- Jane Vorster

YOU switch on your computer and your heart sinks. On the screen is a message that reads, “Oops, your files have been encrypted.” Your computer has been hijacked and now the only way to regain access to all the documents on your hard drive is to pay a fat ransom. If you don’t, the message warns, everything will be deleted.

The bug is called WannaCry for good reason – because it literally makes you want to cry. At the time of going to print it had taken hostage an estimated 200 000 computers in more than 100 countries, including South Africa, as it swept the globe, bringing hospitals, banks, schools and car factories to a standstill.

There’s never been a cyber ransom attack on this scale. What makes WannaCry so dangerous is it hops from computer to computer, infecting entire company networks and spreading like wildfire. Luckily as the bug spread sowing chaos, a mystery tech crusader found a way to halt it. But he warned cyber criminals would soon be back with new versions that would unleash even more havoc. And he was right.

But don’t be a sitting duck. Read on to find out how these invisible extortionists operate and what you need to do to protect yourself.

HOW IT WORKS

It relies on someone in your company clicking on a standard phishing email scam. Once the bait is taken and one computer is infected, a devastating piece of malware known as a worm is released and spreads through the company network. The bug specifically targets computers using older versions of Microsoft’s widely used Windows operating system. It can affect all versions before Windows 10 unless they’ve been protected with a special security patch.