Last Tuesday my entire network got hit by a ransomware popup that froze my PC for 6 hours

I clicked a link in an email that looked like it was from my boss in Denver. Within 2 minutes every file on my desktop got encrypted and there was a countdown demanding $400 in Bitcoin. I panicked and pulled the Ethernet cable out but it was already too late. My IT guy had to wipe my whole machine and I lost a year of bookmarked research links. Has anyone else dealt with a ransomware attack that spread that fast?

2 comments

2 Comments

sarahsullivan26d ago

Wait, only 6 hours? That popup must've been some nasty variant that spreads across mapped drives, cause regular ransomware usually takes longer to do that much damage. Sounds like that fileless kind that works through PowerShell scripts or something, I've read those can hit your whole network in minutes. Your IT guy probably had a fun day restoring backups after that mess.

matthew_owens926d ago

Did your IT guy say whether it was a specific strain that spreads through network shares or something else? That speed sounds wild lol.