This past weekend’s shenanigans with WannaCry have been painful for many people. But the simple fact is that solutions for this specific issue ( and many others ) have been available for a long time.
The initial patch for the MS17-101 issue was released by Microsoft in March 2017. Didn’t update?
Many AV vendors have had virus definitions for WannaCry for some time already and at latest, on Friday evening. Don’t have ( updated ) AV?
Have an office internet connection without a decent firewall?
Still running XP or Vista without extended support?
No 3-tier backups?
The only one to blame is yourself …
IT seems to be treated as an afterthought at many companies. Yet it is IT that helps facilitates your business and income.
Thom from OsNews says:
“Nobody bats an eye at the idea of taking maintenance costs into account when you plan on buying a car. Tyres, oil, cleaning, scheduled check-ups, malfunctions – they’re all accepted yearly expenses we all take into consideration when we visit the car dealer for either a new or a used car.
Computers are no different – they’re not perfect magic boxes that never need any maintenance. Like cars, they must be cared for, maintained, upgraded, and fixed. Sometimes, such expenses are low – an oil change, new windscreen wiper rubbers. Sometimes, they are pretty expensive, such as a full tyre change and wheel alignment. And yes, after a number of years, it will be time to replace that car with a different one because the yearly maintenance costs are too high.
Computers are no different.”
It’s time to put some effort into your IT – especially if you value your data and your business. It may be a difficult pill to swallow, but it’s a necessary one.