Cybersecurity Threats and Financial Crimes Hit U.S. Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands have been hit by two significant cybersecurity incidents, leaving government offices crippled and causing substantial financial losses.

Ransomware Attack on U.S. Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD)

In April 2019, the VIPD was targeted in a ransomware attack that encrypted internal affairs records and citizen complaints, as well as disabling access to important public service software for several weeks. Despite having its files and programs corrupted, the department has stated that no information has been stolen.

Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scam on Water and Power Authority (WAPA)

In a separate incident, WAPA lost $2.3 million due to a BEC scam in May and June 2018. WAPA wired payment for fake invoices that appeared to be coming from a legitimate vendor, highlighting the importance of employee training in identifying phishing emails.

Growing Number of Ransomware Attacks on State and Local Governments

These incidents add to the growing number of reported ransomware attacks hitting state and local governments in the U.S. this year, with at least 22 reported cases as of May 2019.

Best Practices for Preventing Ransomware Attacks

Organizations can take several steps to prevent ransomware infections and mitigate the effects of a ransomware attack:

• Practice the 3-2-1 rule: Keep backups of important files to ensure that data and information remain accessible even after a ransomware attack or infection.
• Train employees to spot email threats: Users should be wary of suspicious emails, URLs, or attachments that attackers can use to deliver ransomware.
• Limit access to administration tools and files to authorized personnel.

Trend Micro Solutions Against Ransomware

Enterprises can benefit from a multilayered approach to best mitigate the risks brought by ransomware. At the endpoint level, Trend Micro Smart Protection Suites deliver several capabilities like high-fidelity machine learning, behavior monitoring, and application control that minimize the impact of this threat. Trend Micro Deep Discovery Inspector detects and blocks ransomware on networks, while the Trend Micro Deep Security solution stops ransomware from reaching enterprise servers – whether physical, virtual, or in the cloud.

To bolster security capabilities and further protect users, organizations can consider security products such as the Trend Micro Cloud App Security solution. This product uses machine learning to analyze sender reputation, content, and URL analysis to detect suspicious activity and prevent phishing attacks.