Texas ransomware attack in August 2019: what to do if you are infected?

More and more towns around the world are dealing with targeted ransomware raids, 23 local governments in Texas being the latest victims of cybercriminals.

1. The August 2019 Texas ransomware attack – what’s known at this point?
2. What to do if you are infected? Automated ransomware removal and recovery
3. Manual ransomware removal and file recovery
4. Ransomware Prevention Tips

The August 2019 Texas ransomware attack – what’s known at this point?

The ransomware epidemic had been wreaking electronic havoc indiscriminately until around 2017, zeroing in on both end users and large IT networks. Then, the era of “mainstream” crypto viruses started to slowly succumb to an attack vector where crooks focused on specific targets. The reasons for this evolutionary shift are vague – some argue it occurred because Bitcoin price took a nosedive, while others believe the security awareness of regular users grew and they got better at identifying and recovering from such onslaughts. One way or another, today’s dominating trend is no longer about trying to catch small fish in a big pond. Instead, the extortionists are going after businesses and even government entities, as is the case with the latest cyber disaster suffered by nearly two dozen towns in the State of Texas. This incursion reportedly took root on August 16, 2019, and the remediation of the damage is still a work in progress at the time of this writing.

According to the Texas Department of Information Resources, the incident made itself felt Friday morning. An unidentified strain of data-encrypting ransomware contaminated the digital infrastructure of 23 government entities across the state. Oddly enough, the predicament took place simultaneously throughout the entirety of targets, which suggests that the harmful payloads might have been deposited into the systems earlier and then got triggered by threat actors remotely. The officials involved in the investigation have since claimed that the adversary behind each instance was the same. This appears to be a reasonable statement, given the strictly coordinated essence of the compromise. Meanwhile, the list of specific municipalities that got on the crooks’ hook hasn’t been disclosed – that’s most likely a precaution aimed at preventing these towns’ digital networks from being regarded as low hanging fruit in the future. The good news is that the systems of the State of Texas have not been impacted.

Greg Abbott, the state governor, has initiated the “Level 2 Escalated Response” in regards to the issue. Technically, this is only one level below the most severe “emergency” alert in the areas affected. Texas has since requested assistance from a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The experts are currently investigating the matter and looking for ways to get the malware-riddled systems up and running.

Whereas the family of ransomware that struck the smaller governments in Texas last weekend is unknown (or is being deliberately kept beyond publicity), a few samples that are known to have been involved in similar incidents in the past are SamSam and Ryuk. The common methods of distribution of the malicious code in such scenarios span phishing emails, exploit kits, and remote desktop service (RDP) hacks. Once a single computer on a network is infiltrated, the ransomware will spread laterally across the host environment, or in some cases will exhibit worm-like behavior to replicate itself and thus expand the attack surface. Having propagated to most machines within the host network, the culprit will start a scan for valuable data and will then encrypt it using symmetric or asymmetric (public key) cryptosystem. When done, it may or may not append a peculiar extension to every hostage file. Finally, the predatory program will display a ransom note asking for Bitcoin or other type of cryptocurrency for the secret decryption key and the recovery tool.

There continue to be plenty of unanswered questions about Texas ransomware attack. The community isn’t aware of the type of ransom Trojan that caused the mayhem, nor is there any update regarding the data restoration progress. It’s unclear either whether the infected entities have redeemed their proprietary information by paying the ransom. The fact remains, though, that ransomware is still a hugely disconcerting phenomenon even governments cannot be properly protected against.

What to do if you are infected? Automated ransomware removal and recovery

Owing to an up-to-date database of malware signatures and intelligent behavioral detection, the recommended software can quickly locate the infection, eradicate it and remediate all harmful changes. So go ahead and do the following:

1. Download and install the antimalware tool. Open the solution and have it check your PC for PUPs and other types of malicious software by clicking the Start Computer Scan button

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2. Rest assured the scan report will list all items that may harm your operating system. Select the detected entries and click Fix Threats to get the troubleshooting completed.

Data recovery toolkit to the rescue

Some strains of ransomware are known to delete the original files after the encryption routine has been completed. As hostile as this activity appears, it can play into your hands. There are applications designed to revive the information that was obliterated because of malfunctioning hardware or due to accidental removal. The tool called Data Recovery Pro by ParetoLogic features this type of capability therefore it can be applied in ransom attack scenarios to at least get the most important files back. So download and install the program, run a scan and let it do its job.

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Manual ransomware removal and file recovery

Some ransomware strains terminate themselves after completing the encryption job on a computer, but some don’t. Furthermore, the virus may prevent victims from using popular antimalware tools in order to stay on board for as long as possible. Under the circumstances, it may be necessary to utilize the Safe Mode with Networking or System Restore functionality.

Be advised that even after the ransomware is removed, files will still be encrypted and inaccessible. The malicious code cleanup part, however, is important because it keeps a relapse of the infection from occurring further on and eliminates all opportunistic malware.

Ways of non-ransom data recovery

Cracking the crypto used by this ransom Trojan is more of a science fiction thing rather than an attainable prospect for the masses. This is why the troubleshooting in predicaments of this sort is a matter of two approaches: one is to pay the ransom, which isn’t an option for many victims; and the other is to apply instruments that take advantage of the ransomware’s possible weaknesses. If the latter is your pick, the advice below is a must-try.

Ransomware Prevention Tips

To avoid ransomware and other file-encrypting infections in the future, follow several simple recommendations:

These techniques are certainly not a cure-all, but they will add an extra layer of ransomware protection to your security setup.

Give your security posture a boost

Post-factum assessment of the accuracy component in malware removal scenarios is a great habit that prevents the comeback of harmful code or replication of its unattended fractions. Make sure you are good to go by running an additional safety checkup. Another benefit of using the antimalware tool is that it will keep ransomware threats from intruding on your computer further on.

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