The FBI Newark Program on Ransomware
On December 12, 2017, the Newark FBI in partnership with the Secret Service presented an informative program on malware. Information was given about the dangers and the effect of ransomware, and what can be done to avoid becoming a victim. The program was held at the Newark FBI field office and was attended by law enforcement professionals, company and industry professionals as well as Newark FBI Citizen Academy members.
The first session gave strategies on what to do, and also what not to do, when your home or office computer becomes infected by malware engineering. First action, isolate the infected computer.
The next part of the program covered the steps to take when you become a victim of extortion and are instructed to pay in Bitcoin. Bitcoin was explained and also the reason why Bitcoin was the extorters preferred method of payment. Unlike bank account and credit card transactions, Bitcoin transactions are difficult to trace and are irreversible. Distant extorters hide behind Bitcoin transactions. This type of dark web transaction is taking away tremendous sums of money from legitimate commerce worldwide.
The dark web uses what is known as, “watering holes,” a technique that uses a similar domain/email address to obtain information. For example:
- myemailaddress@fbi.gov
- myemaiiladdress@fbi.gov
- myemai1address@fbi.gov
(Motivation for this crime: elder fraud, obtaining FICO scores, personal or company information).
The session stressed what to do to help protect yourself and/or your company against these threats.
- Change Passwords Often For Banking And Email
- Focus On Awareness, Detection And Response
- Use Antivirus And Antimalware
- Use Encryption
- Be Willing To Pay For Additional Services To Keep Secure
Most Important: The FBI does not advocate paying ransom and always instructs to immediately contact the following to report incidents of ransomware.
- www.fbi.gov
- www.secretservice.gov