We’ve all heard of ransomware attacks against public and private sector entities. Hackers lock down websites and IT resources, and demand a ransom to restore access. The motivation is money, but the collateral damage often includes thousands of people having their personal information exposed.
The Latest Victim: A Large California Police Department
A recent attack against an HR management platform called Kronos claimed victims in several US cities, including one that is home to one of the largest police departments in California. The private information of the city’s police officers was leaked – including their addresses and phone numbers.
How Can IronWall360 Help?
This attack is a reminder that the largest and most popular software systems are not invulnerable to ransomware. We can’t stop these incidents at the source, but we can limit the damage they inflict on individuals and organizations under our protection.
Here’s what happens in a typical ransomware situation: If the ransom is not paid, the hacker will sell the information they’ve collected, such as bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and perhaps part or all of victims’ social security numbers, to anyone who wants to buy it. If they do get paid they may not sell it, but they’re not likely to waste much time further protecting its confidentiality. Either way, it could get out.
If it’s acquired by someone who can put that information together with other content where personal information may reside, such as government records, school records, or loyalty clubs where you dine out or shop, it will be used for a never-ending barrage of scams and other attempts to hack accounts and steal money.
However, IronWall360 clients have already been removed from those other databases, so even after a ransomware attack the ultimate harm to anyone with online privacy protection can be significantly reduced. As always, the less scammers know about you, the safer you are.
You Can’t Do This Alone
If you are an IronWall360 client we are already scanning the internet every day to find any site where your private information is available – and we make sure that content comes down. So if any leaked content resulting from ransomware compromises your data, we are already on the case. If and when that content pops up online, our proprietary software will find it and let us know. Then we take action to have it removed.
Unfortunately, ransomware is just one way your private information can be compromised. You may be surprised at how much of this content is already available – and if you are a member of certain professions, such as a police officer, judge, or therapist, that represents a potential danger to you and your family.
Monitoring the internet for privacy violations is a full-time job – and you already have one of those. But IronWall360 is on the case. Whether it’s a result of ransomware, sites that specialize in selling data, or a club or group that is not aware it could be putting some of its members in danger, we’ll make sure that content comes down – whatever it takes.
Sign up for IronWall360 protection
