Ransomware ALERT!!! Please read with urgency

Dear Optimus User, Being your ‘Trusted Advisor’, Optimus Business Transformation would like to provide you with updates on critical issues impacting organizations and businesses. Today’s alert is directed to everyone in an effort to raise awareness about current viruses or malware that are affecting businesses in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico!!!! In the last month we have noticed in our clients and in the Caribbean that there is a material increase in these attacks. In the last couple of weeks, clients in different Islands have been attacked, and in a couple of cases they were even compromised where Bitcoin ransoms were requested. All if these are isolated cases and not necessarily in their Microsoft Dynamics Servers.

Ransomware is a type of encrypting malware that encrypts important company files and holds them for ransom. Ransoms typically range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. You should be aware that most ransomware attacks come in the form of an email attachment and you should exercise extreme caution when opening email attachments. Never open an attachment in an email you were not expecting to receive or that you do not recognize the sender. You should use the same caution when presented with URL's that you do not recognize or came from an unknown sender. With today's advanced ransomware techniques you only have to visit a website to become infected with ransomware. Let me make that clear. You DO NOT have to click anything on the website to infect the company with data encrypting ransomware. Also let me make clear that Ransomware has nothing to do directly with Microsoft Dynamics.

In 2020 alone: ? Ransomware emails spiked 385% during the COVID19 Pandemic ? 40% of all spam email had ransomware ? 59% of infections came from email ? 51% of businesses have been impacted by ransomware in the last year ? Between January 1st and June 30th, 2020, it was reported that 100,001 submissions relating to attacks that targeted companies and public sector organizations. These numbers are scary but important for you to know. As a technology user, you are our first line of defense against ransomware. Please follow the best practices as outlined in this email to ensure you do your part to keep ransomware off the company network. Some simple actions are as follows: ? Check internal Antivirus, Firewalls and Windows Updates ? Contact your local Security Partner for assistance ? Perform security vulnerability audits ? Double check with Users that they actually sent an email If you have further questions about ransomware and how you can help prevent it from infecting you or your company’s network; please reach out Optimus at [email protected] or [email protected] and we can start the process with you. Remember as your Trusted Advisor, we are here to help!!!!