Phil Tasker said there is one question 90 per cent of his home-computing clients ask after they are attacked: “Can you save my family photos?”
But most of the time there’s nothing he can do.
Mr Tasker and Karl Winrow, from the Mandurah computer services firm EOS IT, have been warning computer users about the risks of ransomware, which is malicious software that encrypts a computer’s hard-drive preventing any access.
The encryption means all of the data on the computer – whether important business documents, emails or family photos – cannot be accessed without an electronic key, held by the attackers.
And they don’t hand it over until the victim has paid, usually as much as $500.
But Mr Winrow said even paying up was no guarantee the data would be restored.
“The worst thing you can do is pay the ransom,” he said.
“It fuels the entire industry, increases the number of attacks and their sophistication.
“And there is no guarantee that even if they do unencrypt your data they won’t do it again.”
According to both men, there are seeing more and more victims every week and some reports point to massive increases in the attack across the globe.
Mr Tasker said it was not uncommon for attackers to leave behind a program called a Trojan horse, which waits for months before again locking up the system and demanding ransom.
He said emails were still the most common way computer systems were attacked, but required the computer user to open a malicious attachment.
“You must have a solid back-up, have a spam filter, an up-to-date anti-virus program and make sure your system is constantly being patched,” Mr Tasker said.
“But the best advice is to be vigilant.
“If the email looks suspicious – if it says it is from Telstra, but you can see the email address is not from telstra.com – then don’t open the attachment.”
Mr Winrow said the ransomware is getting more complex, with more varieties coming on the market with ever increasing sophistication.
He said there were even criminals who offer a monthly subscription service to amateurs wanting to get a start in ransomware attacks and ready-to-use “exploit kits” which could be bought off the shelf from attackers.
Mr Winrow said his company would be holding a forum for small and medium sized businesses about ransomware and data security in September.
For more information on the event go to eosit.eventbrite.com.au.