Symantec – how it helped block more than 20 million WannaCry Attacks

An infectious strain of ransomware which is known as Ransom WannaCry, managed to penetrate thousands of computers globally since its first appearance. WannaCry is a lot more dangerous than other types of ransomware because it has the ability to infect an organisations network through a weakness in Windows computers. However, this vulnerability has since been patched by Microsoft.

While we heard of the attacks on larger well-known organisations, such as the NHS, WannaCry also infected millions of smaller businesses too. The affects spread to more than 300,000 computers in over 150 countries and a ransom fee was demanded in order to return critical files back to the owners.

That being said, it could have affected many more if not for Symantec, the leader in cyber security. Symantec is reported to have helped prevent approximately 22 million attacks by using real time threat intelligence across the endpoint, cloud and network.

The president and chief operating officer at Symantec, Mike Fey commented: “The WannaCry ransomware attack is the largest we’ve ever seen of its kind and we’re pleased to share that Symantec customers benefitted from multiple layers of protection even before it happened, through innovations and new capabilities in our Integrated Cyber Defense Platform.” He also added: “Our proactive network protection and advanced machine learning technologies provided real-time, zero-day, protection for all SEP and Norton customers when WannaCry was released last week. Our Global Intelligence Network automatically shares WannaCry intelligence between Symantec endpoint, email and Blue Coat network products, providing full protection across all control points, including the cloud.” Read the report here.

In order to be protected, Symantec recommends that all business make sure the Windows security update (MS17-010) has been installed. Symantec Endpoint distributes this and other important software updates or patches, across your business networks. In addition to the above, they also urge Symantec users to make sure that their proactive technologies are enabled so it can help prevent WannaCry attacks and create a block against any further attempts.

A quick word about Symantec

Symantec Endpoint Protection provides security for your laptops, tablets, servers and desktops to protect your network against any risks, malware or vulnerabilities. By combining advanced threat protection with virus protection to be ahead of the game and secure your computers from unknown threats or viruses. What’s great is that it’s very affordable, being pay-as-you-go meaning no heavy investments.

Symantec Endpoint Protection works to secure your network with the following tasks:

• Protecting your endpoints from any malware and maximising system uptime
• Making sure protection policies and compliance on the end point is enforced
• Responding to incidents and threats by quickly and effectively removing malware from endpoints
• Monitoring and tracking any risk exposure across devices, platforms and remote locations.

Remember, if you’re worried about your business or personal computer being vulnerable to ransomware attacks such as WannaCry, ACS York are here to help and provide protection. If you have any questions on how installing Symantec can help you to safeguard your critical data, call us today on 01904 691 311 or fill out our contact form here.