A ransomware virus attack has wiped every Tiverton Town Council document created since 2015. The virus was contained in an email and introduced into the council’s IT network after an employee clicked on the link within the email.

The link contained the ransomware virus which infected every single one of the council’s computers within five minutes and encrypted all the council’s data.

A £3,000 ransom was demanded to return the files unencrypted.

Unfortunately the council did not have sufficient antivirus in place to block the ransomware virus attack nor adequate backup measures in place to recover the data. The council will now need to manually upload the lost data. Luckily for the council the finance and planning documents are held on a separate IT network. This meant the ransomware virus attack wasn’t as catastrophic as it could have been.

This recent cyber attack is a stark warning to all businesses. Spam emails containing malicious viruses look extremely convincing and can easily hoodwink the non-vigilant and persuade them to click on dodgy links. Once a virus has been introduced into an IT network it’s extremely difficult to prevent its spread.

If you’d like to find out what the latest cyber threats are and what you can do to protect your business come along to our Cyber Security Awareness Week in Exeter from 6-10 February 2017. We’ve got a great line up of expert speakers and a variety of different sessions. All  events are free to attend and will focus on practical advice. To see the programme click here.

There are a limited number of places still available. To book your place click here.