Thursday October 10 2024
Swindon & Wiltshire News
IT company Sensata is warning Wiltshire businesses to beware of a new virus which has the potential to lock down their systems and holding them to ransom.
The team, based in Royal Wootton Bassett, believes CTB-Locker is more potent and resilient than the much-publicised Cryptolocker virus and is a danger to businesses and home computer users alike.
“We all get unexpected emails, and invariably the spam is easy to spot,” said Chris Griffin, technical director at Sensata.
“However, these emails look very convincing and usually purport to be from HMRC or a bank. We would strongly urge anyone who receives a suspicious email like this not to open it, but delete it. Should it be opened, they should shut down their system immediately and seek professional IT help.”
CTB-Locker is a virus which runs in the background encrypting files across the entire network. Once this is complete, it presents the user with a message advising them to pay a sum of money in order to decrypt the files.
The private key, which is used to decrypt the files, is stored on a remote command-and-control server, which can only be accessed over the Tor anonymity network. This makes it near impossible for law enforcement agencies to identify and shut down the server.
Chris said: “We had two clients who fell victim to the Cryptolocker virus, but in both instances we were able to rescue their data.
“Fortunately our clients have not been affected by the CTB-Locker, but its potential danger is clear to see. As with the Cryptolocker, there is no guarantee that the decryption key exists, rendering your files useless.”
Sensata, this year celebrating its tenth anniversary, delivers a range of IT support services to businesses throughout Swindon, the South West and beyond, and has solved many virus issues for clients over the past decade.
The company recently moved from Swindon to larger premises in Royal Wootton Bassett, in order to accommodate a growing team and expanding client base.
Any businesses concerned about the CTB-Locker, or Cryptolocker, or needing any IT assistance should contact Sensata on 01793 250030 or visit www.sensata.co.uk
