Ransomware or Cyberattack, Petya’s One More Reason to Choose IGEL OS

Petya, Petwrap, NotPetya, GoldenEye – no matter what you call it, the latest ransomware outbreak this week still spelled devastation for as many as 12,500 computers. It’s a fresh reminder that you need to take preventive measures now, or potentially fall victim to the inevitable next threat.

What’s even worse about this week’s round of ransomware, as some analysts speculate, is that perhaps money may not have been the motivation, but rather an intent was to destroy data. Furthermore, it is being reported that this may have been a cyberattack targeting the Ukraine. If true, there’s little motivation to ever return captured data, which exponentially increases the damage potential as there is possibly no opportunity to recover. And, even if the target was the Ukraine, the fallout has impacted at least 65 countries in a rapid wave of destruction.

This new Petya variant, like Wannacry, appears to leverage the Microsoft Server Message Block exploit known as EternalBlue.  Without proper protections, patches or antivirus software in place, EternalBlue allows the attack to quickly penetrate an organization, making it resilient and difficult to contain.

What to do? Employ IGEL OS of course. Not only is it Linux-based, with its core fundamentals of privileged mode execution, IGEL adds many unique security layers to make a device running IGEL OS nearly immune to ransomware and cyberattacks alike. Consider these points:

1. Runs in read-only mode. The entire IGEL OS runs in memory, and only configuration data is ever written to internal storage. Furthermore, configuration data is committed under the control of a secure daemon process to record the device’s last known configuration. All other aspects of the runtime operating system are not stored on disk and refresh when a device boots.
2. System of constant OS validation. While loading the IGEL OS firmware into working memory, every single component (from the Linux kernel to the Mozilla Firefox browser to the Citrix Receiver) is verified to assure the system is in a healthy state.
3. Ensures rapid recovery. IGEL’s Universal Management Suite (plus the IGEL Cloud Gateway for delivery to any Internet connected device) enables rapid, secure and highly manageable recovery of devices deployed in an organization. With granular control of all devices connected to the network, whether secure private or non-secure public networks, an organization can rapidly redeploy and/or update thousands or tens of thousands of endpoints simultaneously. So, even if disaster strikes, you can rapidly recover… without fail.

It’s clear. New waves of ransomware and cyberattacks will continue to hit at a more rapid pace than ever. Don’t be caught unprepared. Download and try our Universal Desktop Converter (UDC) software today to see how easy it is to convert your endpoints to the IGEL OS. Not only will you achieve new levels of security, you’ll also save hours of time managing your endpoint devices.