Ransomware menace calls for precautions

Cybercriminals behind ransomware attacks don’t care who you are, what you do or who gets hurt.

That goes for individuals, businesses and other organizations.

If computer systems aren’t sufficiently protected, cybercriminals can — and all too often do — wreak expensive havoc.

And governments aren’t immune.

Nunavut recently found this out the hard way. The northern territory is still trying to recover from a Nov. 2 ransomware attack that encrypted vital files on all its servers and work computers. Government employees have had to revert to paper, phones and faxes for communications.

Fortunately, everything was securely backed up, so the territory will be able to rebuild its systems, though it could take weeks. The cost to do so is still unknown, Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq said last week. (We’re told Nova Scotia has temporarily blocked emails from the government of Nunavut, as a precaution.)

Importantly, Nunavut refused to pay to retrieve access to its files. That’s in line with RCMP advice. Giving in to such extortion only encourages more attacks. And there’s no guarantee paying the ransom will work.

Experts say Canadian municipalities and other government organizations are being increasingly targeted.

Two Ontario municipalities, Midland and Wasaga Beach, were hit in 2018. This year, ransomware attacks struck Stratford, Woodstock and The Nation — as well as three hospitals — in Ontario.

In the United States, reported ransomware attacks on state and local governments, including school districts and institutes of higher education, have almost doubled in 2019, to nearly 100, compared to the year before.

Clearly, governments across Atlantic Canada — from the provincial level right down to local agencies — need to be on guard against potential cyberattacks.

That’s true for individuals, businesses and other organizations, too, of course. But the consequences could be severe if public services, in particular critical ones such as health care or social assistance, were crippled or shut down by a successful ransomware attack.

Computer security experts warn there’s currently a lack of comprehensive reporting about ransomware attacks, especially at the municipal level, across Canada. They say more provincial leadership is needed to ensure security standards are being set, understood and met.

Ransomware attacks are steadily increasing around the world. For the unscrupulous, the internet makes it easy to download the required malware and learn how to infect computer systems. Which means that secure backups of all critical data, and computer security systems that are fully patched and up to date, are absolutely vital.

Even then, as Nunavut’s experience shows, a ransomware attack can cause chaos.