Paulius Petretis, leading cyber security expert discusses the fact that those hit by the recent WannaCry/WannaCrypt randomware attack had older MS operating systems or simply did not keep up with the most recent patches.

Vilnius, Lithuania – May 05, 2017 – Paulius Petretis, CEO of VORAS Consulting posted a new article on the company website entitled “Getting Hit By WannaCry and WannaCrypt Makes You Wanna Kick Yourself.” Mr. Petretis suggests that there’s no time for remorse.

Petretis asks, “Is your company’s computer data being held for ransom?” He adds, “If so, as you certainly must know by now, you’re not alone. Last week companies and individuals in more than 100 countries around the world became victims of the biggest Ransomware outbreak ever. However, those who got hit were using older operating systems or simply had not applied the latest MS patch.” He adds, “Kind of makes you want to kick yourself for not taking cyber security seriously, doesn’t it?”

According to Petretis, “If you were one of the companies that had applied critical Microsoft Windows patches released in March, you were protected against this attack.” “If not,” he adds, “there are still many Windows servers and workstations that are potentially vulnerable. The WannaCry (Wcry)/WannaCrypt ransomware threat may still be working its way through other companies using older Microsoft OS systems at this very moment.”

As Petretis indicates there this is not the time to “slack of cyber security.” As Petretis points out, “ Those of us in the cyber security field have known this type of attack was imminent.” He continues adding, “And unfortunately we will be seeing more copycats, since ransomware threats are not new. This type of malicious software has been traced to threats all the way back to 1989. Those were the days of floppy disks when the ransomware was sent to unsuspecting computer owners.”

The entire article can be read at https://voras-consulting.com/getting-hit-by-wannacry-and-wannacrypt-makes-you-wanna-kick-yourself/

Paulius Petretis

Paulius Petretis is an Information security expert, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM®), Certified Information System Auditor (CISA®), Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT(CGEIT®) and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC®), Guest speaker at various conferences and seminars, Trainer at information security related training courses.

According to the annual survey initiated by the Info Security Europe, a whopping 93% of large organizations and 76% of small businesses had at least a single information security breach in 2011. Only 18% of the organizations affected by the infringements related to data protection laws had a consistent and effective contingency plan in place. According to Paulius, information is not something static – it evolves and mutates every day. It is the ecosystem of every business and if a single cell fails, it can bring down the entire business.

Therefore ensuring a consistent and up-to-date information protection policy must be the priority for all businesses – no matter how big or small they are. As it might be unrealistic to believe that any young or experienced entrepreneur can be the jack of all trades, the really smart decision is to rely on specialists who dedicate their professional lives to getting to know everything there is to know about protecting important business information.

With more than 16 years of experience in helping people, small businesses, and government organizations to protect their business secrets, Paulius believes that information security must help businesses achieve goals but not vice versa.

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