In light of the recent cyber-attack, it is advisable to keep a data backup and not open unknown emails.
The recent ransomware cyber-attack has forced banks, corporate houses, educational institutions and hospitals to relook their systems and processes in order to secure their customers’ and their own data. Social media too was abuzz with news of hospitals losing data and some operations being put off.
Banks, government departments and corporate houses have also issued cautionary messages and reinforced online security. The recent attacks have done much to alert the major establishments but thankfully, didn’t create the disruption that was intended.
Raghunath Rao, an IT professional, says his firm issued a slew of instructions to the employees. “We were asked to not open email attachments from unknown accounts and to not reply to any stranger’s emails. We were also asked to avoid clicking on suspicious links in websites and emails. We were instructed to keep a backup of important data on external media which must be scanned before using,” explains Raghunath. He feels it would be appropriate to follow these instructions on a regular basis just to ensure that data is never lost. He also points out that sometimes companies have the tendency to pay the hackers to get the decryption key. “There is no guarantee that you will get the decryption key. Also, it’s an encouragement for hackers. The company or the person indulging in this act may land up in legal issues for paying a hacker,” he cautions.
Some IT firms aren’t operating any of their internal applications. The employees had to clock into work but not operate the applications until they were completely scanned and secured. Jupsy Kushalappa, another professional, says, “We were asked to not open any unknown emails and log off the office server. We were working on securing the data.”
Sagar R, an employee with HCL, points out that the idea is not to panic at this time but to be alert. “Everybody has become more alert after the ransomware cyber-attack. This has also prompted companies to upgrade their anti-virus software and look out for new methods to secure their data.”
There were a few cases in hospitals across the country where major operations had to be put off because of loss of data due to the cyber-attack. Dr Naresh Bhat, Chief of Medical Services, Aster CMI, says, “We have a hospital information system that always keeps a backup of all the data, especially reports related to the patients. It is important not to lose details related to the patient’s past records.”