Welcome to Patch Tuesday boys and girls.
Just wanted to bring to your attention that Microsoft released a patch for Windows XP and Vista today along with other updates. What makes it so highly unusual is that both of these operating systems have been beyond support life since the 2013-2014 timeframe. These patches are in an effort to curb WannaCrypt ransomware attacks.
General Manager of the Cyber Defense Operations Center at Microsoft, Adrienne Hall, said:
“In reviewing the updates for this month, some vulnerabilities were identified that pose elevated risk of cyberattacks by government organizations, sometimes referred to as nation-state actors, or other copycat organizations. To address this risk, today we are providing additional security updates along with our regular Update Tuesday service. These security updates are being made available to all customers, including those using older versions of Windows.” (Link to statement)
The part that I find fascinating? Allow me to quote again, “…by government organizations…” Hmmmmm. All your base are belong to us…
This brings, yet again, to the forefront of how organizations should have a well-thought-out plan on how to thwart ransomware. This should start with patching/hardening. Many of the companies hit with WannaCrypt were due to having these older, unpatched operating systems. However, their plan should also include not only reliable backups and tested restores, but should also include some form of off-network (air-gapped) solution that contains replicas/backups of key systems/data.
For example, if one of your SQL databases, that houses data crucial to your business, is being backed up to a network share (or worse, local storage), then you’ve got yourself a ticking time bomb. One, crafty ransomware attack and not only is your database encrypted, but so are your backups. Heck, there’s even ransomware attacks out there that not only encrypt data, but also specifically target your backups. “Sony attack” ring a bell? An air-gapped solution could save you.
Anyhow, get the patches that are now available for these older operating systems (as well as newer ones). Happy patching…
Categories: Microsoft, ransomware, Security
Tech Barton 
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