Cape Town, 22 May 2017
On Friday 12 May, the world saw the first victims of the now infamous Crypto malware - WannaCry. To date the attack has spread to more than 150 countries and over 200 000 users. Its primary target being businesses and public sector organisations.
In the recent PandaLabs Q1 Report, Panda Security details of the development of the cyber-crime industry, characterised by constant efforts of hackers in creating new and adapted malware variants, to the establishment of organisations offering ransomware as a service. WannaCry brings these developments to the forefront.
This far reaching and devastating attack highlights the necessity for organisations to acknowledge a new paradigm in cyber-security, and move away from commoditised AV products. The paradigm emphasises the role of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) technology in protecting endpoints from advanced threats. Enabling visibility, prevention, detection and reporting capabilities.
Leveraging EDR technology Panda Adaptive Defense has the ability to protect endpoints from advanced attacks such as WannaCry. The solution continuously monitors and classifies all programs running on endpoints, only allowing legitimate programs to run - stopping WannaCry in its tracks. To date Panda has not had a single case of infection for any client operating in lock mode, whose IT infrastructure was completely protected by Adaptive Defense.
Collective Intelligence gathered by Adaptive Defense allowed Panda to assist The Spanish National Crypotological Centre gain insights into WannaCry's actions - benefitting from the unlimited visibility and absolute control of all processes. "Our cloud-based advanced protection model that user contextual intelligence not only allowed us to help our clients, but also to actively collaborate with international cyber-security authorities", says Jeremy Matthews, Regional Manager of Panda Security Africa.
In the light of this attack Matthews recommends taking the following steps to protect your data:
* Implement next-generation protection solutions.
* Ensure your devices are updated with the latest security patches.
* Do not open files, attachments and links from untrusted e-mails.
* Be cautious of following links in e-mails, IM's and social media.
* Periodically backup your data.
Panda Adaptive Defense is the first cyber-security service that combines next-generation protection, detection and remediation technology, with the ability to classify 100% of running processes. Detecting and blocking malware that others miss.
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