Austal , which is based in Henderson , Western Australia , is one of the country 's largest shipbuilders ; it has built vessels for the U.S. Navy . The company , which is listed on Australia 's ASX stock exchange , announced the breach late Thursday . The announcement came just a day after a security researcher in France posted Attack.Databreach screenshots on Twitter of the purported stolen data . Austal says the material is neither sensitive nor classified and that it has taken steps to secure its data systems. `` The data breach Attack.Databreach has had no impact on Austal 's ongoing operations , '' the company says . Austal 's business in the United States is unaffected by this issue , as the computer systems are not linked . A spokesman for Austal contacted on Friday says he could n't offer further information on the incident . The breach Attack.Databreach exposed Attack.Databreach ship design drawings that are distributed to customers , fabrication subcontractors and suppliers , Austal says . It also exposed Attack.Databreach `` some staff email addresses and mobile phone numbers . '' Those individuals have been informed as well as a `` small number '' of other stakeholders directly impacted by the breach , the company reports . Austal has contacted the Australian Cyber Security Center and the Australian Federal Police . The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner , which enforces the country 's data protection regulations `` will be involved as required , '' Austal says . Companies are increasingly being subjected to ransoms Attack.Ransom by hackers after their networks have been breached Attack.Databreach . Ransoms Attack.Ransom put companies in tough positions : risk public exposure of potentially embarrassing data , or risk paying a ransom Attack.Ransom and still face a chance the data could be released anyway . Security experts and law enforcement generally advise against paying ransoms Attack.Ransom , even after incidents of file-encrypting malware . But some companies have viewed the situation as either a cost of doing business or a shorter route to recovery . Late last month in the U.S , the city of West Haven , Connecticut , paid Attack.Ransom $ 2,000 to unlock 23 servers that had been infected with ransomware ( see : Connecticut City Pays Ransom Attack.Ransom After Crypto-Locking Attack ) . The city 's attorney , Lee Tiernan , was quoted by the Associated Press as saying `` research showed it was the best course of action . '' If the city did n't have a backup file , it may have had little choice .

And that approach probably works out just fine from a law enforcement organization ’ s perspective . However , from the viewpoint of a private citizen whose entire database has been held hostage by vicious hackers , not paying a ransom Attack.Ransom is hardly an option . According to the FBI ’ s own statistics , ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom are spreading like virus in the US alone , with a spike as alarming as $ 209 million in damages in the first three months of 2016 . When you look at it , the reasons behind the spread of ransomware are quite easy to understand . The malicious coding can be acquired by anyone with an internet connection for as little as a hundred dollars on the Deep Web , the psychological pressure over losing one ’ s important data almost always ends up in a successful heist and the current law enforcement system can and does very little to prevent the situation from going out of control . That , however , is not to say that the law enforcement isn ’ t concerned . In a news report released in April 2016 , the FBI expressed its direct concerns over the unchallenged growth of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom and urged any victims to not give in to the demand for ransom Attack.Ransom unless all other options are exhausted . Unfortunately , however , as is the case with most ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom , the stakes of losing years worth of important data is always quite high and the ransom demanded Attack.Ransom usually very small , leading most victims to give in to the attackers ’ demands Attack.Ransom before even reaching out to law enforcement . For starters , though , let ’ s try and have a look at what ransomware is , and what differentiates it from other types of malicious coding . The most common form of ransomware is one that infiltrates your network , gains access Attack.Databreach to your data and encrypts them using advanced algorithms to prevent you from accessing your own files . A demand Attack.Ransom for an aggressive amount of money , generally in Bitcoin , is then demanded Attack.Ransom by the perpetrator in exchange for the key that decrypts said data that has been hijacked . There are , of course , several other types of ransomware , such as the kind that block access to the entire operating system or the kind that attaches itself to a partition of the computer ’ s hard drive . Most ransomware come with some sort of encryption key that is used to unlock the stolen data files once ransom is paid Attack.Ransom , though there is absolutely no guarantee that the perpetrator will keep their end of the bargain once money is transferred . The majority of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom come with a set of identifying characteristics , such as the use of malicious coding that can spread throughout the network , the blocking of access to important data in the victim ’ s servers in a variety of creative ways , including the scrambling of file names and adding different extensions to prevent them from being accessed . Ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom also feature a time limit to add an element of psychological pressure against the victim , after which the data in concern is either stolen Attack.Databreach or deleted from the victim ’ s servers permanently . Attackers these days almost always ask for payment Attack.Ransom in Bitcoin , as the cryptocurrency is incredibly difficult to track as far as payments go . The concern over ransomware lies not in individual cases but the number of cases reported each year , which makes it the most popular cyber-infiltration scenario in current times . According to the Cyber Threat Alliance ( CTA ) , the damages caused by CryptoWall 3 , a particular type of ransomware , hit Attack.Ransom $ 325 million in 2015 alone . As per statistics produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation , in the first few months of 2016 , a single variant of ransomware infected as many as 100,000 computers each day . In the March of 2016 , the number of computers infected by ransomware technology hit the absolute upper ceiling for the year , reports Symantec . While the cases , when considered individually , may not amount to much , the number of incidents reported worldwide in any given year is clearly a matter of global concern .

When Cloquet school officials realized staff were unable to access certain files the morning of Aug 3 , there may have been a certain amount of negative `` been there , done that '' feeling involved . For the second time in three years , the school district is the target of a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom — a particularly virulent computer malware that spreads from computer to computer , locking up access to network servers and turning documents into gibberish before offering `` help '' in the form of a request for payment Attack.Ransom to provide a `` key '' to unlock the files . Last time , in March 2016 , the district had to cancel school for a day to allow technology staff time to recover from the malware , which infected some of the district 's servers and many of its more than 600 computers . This time , it happened over summer vacation , and the attack was not as devastating . According to the staff report from Cloquet School District Technology Director T.J.Smith , the virus encrypted files on all servers except one , including network shared drives . However , there is no indication that any information was "stolen Attack.Databreach , '' just that it had been encrypted , so users were unable to open the files . Smith explained to Cloquet School Board members Monday , Aug 13 , that the district had two options , not including paying the ransom demand Attack.Ransom : either try to recover the data , which may not be successful and could be a waste of time and money , or figure out how to recreate the data and rebuild the affected servers . He advocated the second option , noting that the lost data was not `` mission critical '' and that insurance will pay to return the servers to their previous state . Board members voted unanimously for the second option of re-creating information and rebuilding the servers ; they also voted to hire a company to do a `` forensic '' investigation to try and determine how the virus got in . The total cost to the school district for insurance deductibles , estimated at $ 15,000 , will be covered by money already in the technology budget . Superintendent Michael Cary said the district determined that paying a ransom Attack.Ransom `` is not in the best interest of our schools and the community we serve . '' Board Chairman Ted Lammi said he believes such payments to hackers should be illegal . `` Some institutions have paid big bucks and that 's why these guys do it , '' Lammi said . Board member Duane Buytaert , who works in technology for Carlton County , said it can also be a matter of making sure users know how to detect such attacks . `` We all get those wacky emails , '' he said . Staff training should be a priority , board members agreed . On the positive side , Smith said technology staff were able to recover quite a bit of data already , and staff can recreate the data that was lost . The recovery process should not affect the start of school Sept 5 .

Ransomware scammers have been exploiting a flaw in Apple 's Mobile Safari browser in a campaign to extort fees Attack.Ransom from uninformed users . The scammers particularly target those who viewed porn or other controversial content . Apple patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the vulnerability on Monday with the release Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability of iOS version 10.3 . The flaw involved the way that Safari displayed JavaScript pop-up windows . In fact , recovering from the pop-up loop was as easy as going into the device settings and clearing the browser cache . This simple fix was possibly lost on some uninformed targets who were too uncomfortable to ask for outside help . `` The attackers effectively used fear as a factor to get what they wanted before the victim realized that there was little actual risk , '' Lookout researchers Andrew Blaich and Jeremy Richards wrote in Monday 's post . The user provided the screenshot shown above , which attempts to instill fear with the claim the device was being locked `` for illegal pornography . '' Below those words was a pop-up Window that said `` Can not Open Page . '' Each time the person clicked on the accompanying OK button , a new window would open again . The JavaScript used in the attack shows signs of being used to exploit the same Safari flaw present in Vulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability iOS version 8 , which was released in 2014 . The attackers , the Lookout researchers said , purchased a large number of domains in an attempt to `` catch users that are seeking controversial content on the internet and coerce them into paying a ransom Attack.Ransom to them . '' Sites tailored the messages they delivered based on country identifiers . The campaign in many respects resembles one that hit Attack.Ransom Android users in 2014 . That one demanded Attack.Ransom a $ 300 ransom paid Attack.Ransom in the form of mechanisms such as Paysafecard or uKash

A ransomware threat called SLocker , which accounted for one-fifth of Android malware attacks in 2015 , is back with avengeance , according to security firm Wandera . SLocker encrypts images , documents and videos on Android devices and demands a ransom Attack.Ransom to decrypt the files . Once the malware is executed , it runs in the background of a user 's device without their knowledge or consent . Once it has encrypted files on the phone , the malware hijacks the device , blocking the user 's access , and attempts to intimidate them into paying a ransom Attack.Ransom to unlock it . Last year , security company Bitdefender said that ransomware was the largest malware risk to Android users in the second half of 2015 - with SLocker accounting for 22 per cent of Android malware threats in the UK in that period . The malware also topped the ransomware charts in Germany and Australia , and Bitdefender claimed that 44 per cent of Android users it asked had already paid out a ransom Attack.Ransom in order to regain access to their devices . The malware continued to cause problems and , in mid-2016 , its attacks Attack.Ransom were estimated to have resulted in tens of millions of dollars in ransoms paid Attack.Ransom . Weeks after the initial wave of attacks , security companies patched Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability the issue for their enterprise customers , devices were updated Vulnerability-related.PatchVulnerability and the threat disappeared . That is until now . Mobile security firm Wandera said that its mobile intelligence engine MI : RIAM had detected more than 400 variants of the same malware . It said that these strains were targeting businesses ' mobile fleets through easily accessible third-party app stores and websites where security checks are not as rigorous as they ought to be . According to Wandera , the variants have been redesigned and repackaged to avoid all known detection techniques . `` They utilise a wide variety of disguises including altered icons , package names , resources and executable files in order to evade signature-based detection , '' the company said . Third-party app stores and unknown vendors should be avoided by Android users , while corporate administrators should be wary of SLocker returning and put in place security measures to monitor devices accordingly .

The United States ’ National Security Agency has linked North Korea to the WannaCry ransomware attack Attack.Ransom that had affected more than 3,00,000 people worldwide in May , reported The Washington Post . The NSA analysed tactics , techniques and targets that suggest the Reconnaissance General Bureau , North Korea ’ s spy agency , was behind the attack . The assessment was issued internally last week and has not yet been made public . According to the assessment , the cyber actors , suspected to be sponsored by the RGB , were behind two versions of WannaCry . The Shadow Brokers , a hacking group believed to be behind a massive dump Attack.Databreach of National Security Agency cyber-weapons and software , were responsible for releasing the vulnerability in the computer systems used by government agencies and other companies . The vulnerability had led to WannaCry being able to replicate itself and causing massive damage internationally . The vulnerability was referred to by the NSA as “ EternalBlue ” . WannaCry is a malicious software that had crippled systems worldwide and affected more than 150 countries in a cyber attack in May . It had locked data on computers it struck , which could only be released after a paying a ransom Attack.Ransom in bitcoins . The major cyber attack had targeted several nations , bringing operations at hospitals , telecommunications firms and other companies to a halt .

One tried-and-true technique continues to be hiding malware inside fake versions of popular files , then distributing Attack.Phishing those fake versions via app stores . Doing the same via peer-to-peer BitTorrent networks has also long been popular . But as with so many supposedly free versions of paid-for applications , users may get more than they bargained for . To wit , last week researchers at the security firm ESET spotted new ransomware - Filecoder.E - circulating via BitTorrent , disguised as Attack.Phishing a `` patcher '' that purports to allow Mac users to crack such applications as Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Microsoft Office 2016 . As Toronto-based security researcher Cheryl Biswas notes in a blog post : `` For those who torrent , be careful . ESET says the ransomware can also encrypt any Time Machine backups on network-connected volumes that are mounted at the time of the attack Attack.Ransom . If the ransomware infects a system , it demands Attack.Ransom 0.25 bitcoins - currently worth about $ 300 - for a decryption key . But ESET security researcher Marc-Etienne M.L Éveillé , in a blog post , says the application is so poorly coded that there 's no way that a victim could ever obtain a decryption key . So far , ESET reports that the single bitcoin wallet tied to the ransomware has received no payments . `` There is one big problem with this ransomware : It does n't have any code to communicate with any C & C ; server , '' says Éveillé , referring to a command-and-control server that might have been used to remotely control the infected endpoint . `` This means that there is no way the key that was used to encrypt the files can be sent to the malware operators . This also means that there is no way for them to provide a way to decrypt a victim 's files . '' The longstanding ransomware-defense advice , of course , is to never pay ransoms Attack.Ransom , because this directly funds cybercrime groups ' ongoing research and development . Instead , stay prepared : Keep complete , disconnected backups of all systems , and periodically test that they can be restored , and thus never have to consider paying a ransom Attack.Ransom . `` We advise that victims never pay the ransom Attack.Ransom when hit by ransomware , '' Éveillé says . In other ransomware news , new ransomware known as Trump Locker - not to be confused with Trumpcryption - turns out to be a lightly repackaged version of VenusLocker ransomware , according to Lawrence Abrams of the security analysis site Bleeping Computer , as well as the researchers known as MalwareHunter Team . `` Unfortunately , you are hacked , '' the start of the malware's ransom demand Attack.Ransom reportedly reads . VenusLocker first appeared in October 2016 ; it got a refresh two months later . The researchers do n't know if the group distributing Trump Locker is the same group that distributed VenusLocker , or if another group of attackers reverse-engineered the code . But they say that functionally , the two pieces of malware appear to be virtually identical , Bleeping Computer reports . For example , both Trump Locker and VenusLocker will encrypt some files types in full , while only encrypting the first 1024 bytes of other file types , including PDF , XLS , DOCX , and MP3 file formats . Fully encrypted files have `` .TheTrumpLockerf '' appended to their filename , while partially encrypted files get a `` .TheTrumpLockerp '' extension added , the researchers say . Finally , ransomware gangs ' use of customer service portals - to help and encourage victims to pay their ransoms Attack.Ransom - continues , says Mikko Hypponen , chief research officer of Finnish security firm F-Secure . One chief function of this support appears to be to help victims who do n't know their Windows from their ASP to find a way to remit bitcoins Attack.Ransom to attackers , according to research into crypto-ransomware called Spora and its related customer-support operation , conducted by F-Secure 's Sean Sullivan .