Have you heard of RobbinHood?

The creators of the dreaded 'RobbinHood' ransomware strain are putting their reputation to work for them.  The hackers have recently modified their ransom note in a couple of important ways.

First and foremost, they stress that there's no public decryption tool currently available to recover files encrypted by RobbinHood and that they are monitoring the situation to make sure that the company impacted by the malware does not contact law enforcement.  Any attempt to do so "will damage your files," the warning reads.

The ransomware that attacked Greenville, N.C. and Baltimore

Those two recent additions are bad enough on their own, but the hackers took an additional step. They are now directing victims to a web search highlighting an incident that occurred in Greenville North Carolina and another that impacted servers in the city of Baltimore.

RobbinHood was used in both attacks, and while the ransoms demanded in both cases weren't excessive (less than $100,000 initially demanded), the aftershocks arising from those attacks wound up costing the city millions.  In fact, according to CBS Baltimore, the city "put more than $18 million into the attack."

Clearly, the recent changes to the ransom note used by the attackers are aimed at convincing those impacted by their malware to pay up and keep quiet.  How well that will ultimately work remains to be seen, but at this point, the hackers are correct.  There is no public decryption tool.

Our perspective

What they don't mention, of course, is the fact paying the ransom isn't the only way to recover encrypted files.  If your company is in the habit of making good, complete backups at regular intervals, then a ransomware attack doesn't have to be devastating.  With a proper, timely response, it could be a little more than an inconvenience.  Naturally, the hackers don't want to draw attention to this, but it is something you and your IT staff should keep very much in mind.

As Hill Street Blues' Sgt. Esterhaus always advised: "Hey, let's be careful out there!"

Meanwhile, check out this report

This free executive report may give you insights into how to build your business with safe IT environments: 10 Hidden IT Risks That Might Threaten Your Business and 1 Easy Way to Find Them

The author

Thanks for reading this short post. For more tips on thriving with small business technology, check out the other blog posts at DWPia Blogs. I am also available on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Cybersecurity Expert, Small Business Technology Consultant, Managed Services Provider, Managed IT SupportI am Denis Wilson, President and Principal Consultant for DWP Information Architects. I help professionals grow their business by building a foundation of rock-solid information solutions for smaller healthcare, insurance, financial, legal, and nonprofits firms in Ventura County and San Fernando Valley. And have created cost-effective IT solutions, for over 20 years, specializing in cybersecurity and regulatory compliance. I am also a published author and speaker, working extensively with a variety of organizations, as well as providing small business technology education programs through business and professional associations. This just in: I will be speaking regularly at California Lutheran University's Center for Nonprofit Leadership starting in September.

Contact me if you would like me to speak at your association.