How CryptoLocker Has Been Good For The Industry

By Ian Trump, Security Lead, MAXfocus

Ian Trump is a fan of ransomware; not because of what it does but because of how it’s refocused our attention on security. Here he offers four quick wins that will help you build a hard-to-hack fortress.

15:36 Yellow Dog Tavern, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada: CryptoLocker 4.0 is the current topic of conversation, mostly due to my PR team and content team asking for something and because I’m a fan of ransomware. Let me be clear here, I’m not a fan of what ransomware unleashes on countless IT admins and MSPs, but as an advocate of layered security I believe it’s done four really important things for our industry:

• It’s demonstrated the failings of single security solution thinking;
• It [a ransomware outbreak] has provided a tangible, identifiable indicator of how “you could be doing a better job” for your customers;
• It’s shown that a managed services provider (MSP) or IT admin not taking this threat seriously is going to loose customers or jobs; and
• It’s provided us with a frontline test of our skills — if your defenses can ward off the latest ransomware, you can probably face down the worst the Internet can throw at you.

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