IT Support Company London

Ransomware isn't exactly a new threat, and it continues to grow over recent years as a means for cyber criminals to extort individuals or businesses by way of locking down their devices and - you guessed it - essentially demanding a ransom for it to be unlocked. With reports of ransomware being more widespread as far back as 2015, you'd think by now it would have been dealt with more efficiently, however, according to research ransomware generated an estimated $1 billion in 2016 alone.  It also has a low cost structure (so, very profitable) and the victim directly sends the perpetrator money.

Regardless of whether the device has been locked, a recent vulnerability in Windows 10 has given hijackers an easy route to taking over - simply by using the digital assistant, Cortana, to execute commands.  Security software giant McAfee provided an in-depth analysis of the new vulnerability, which states that the "Hey, Cortana!" voice command (a default feature enabled in Windows 10) could be triggered even when the device was in a locked state, giving potential attackers a route to being able to see files, information and potentially allow arbitrary code execution. Due to the vulnerability, it is possible to launch a Windows contextual menu by typing when Cortana starts to listen to a query on a device that is locked. 

It’s difficult to conduct business these days without having a degree of reliance on IT systems and practices for your day-to-day operations. Unfortunately it’s also easy to become complacent when it comes to keeping your IT systems up-to-date and operating with the utmost efficiency, if you don't have a dedicated IT support team. It’s a general recommendation that you give your business hardware a refresh every 3-5 years, but more often than not small businesses will continue to use their IT systems for even longer than this. In this day and age, computer systems are improving rapidly, and it’s amazing how much a new computer will do for productivity. If there are any signs of potential vulnerabilities in your IT network security or infrastructure, indicators of inefficiency in IT asset management then it’s probably time for an IT audit.