Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in Saudi Arabia has warned users against attacks from the Shamoon2 and Ransomware viruses, which cripple computers by targeting information and files and wiping them out. The CITC has urged all government departments and organizations to take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their networks. The warning has come after several ministries and departments came under cyber attacks, leading to the malfunctioning of their networks. The Commission has called on all organizations to raise the level of caution and asked them to apply solutions that may help prevent attacks and minimize the damage if caused. The CITC further underscored the importance of copying and archiving important files and folders. The backup copies should not be stores in the same machine or in a shared drive, it advised. It also noted the importance of increasing awareness among employees through the intensification of awareness campaigns to highlight these types of attacks. It further advised against opening suspicious links, attachments, and e-mails from unknown persons, and against opening suspicious websites or those unrelated to work and downloading from them. The Commission has recommended updating of operating systems and applications regularly and effectively, using anti-virus software as well. It also recommended shutting down all computers suspected of being infected, and minimizing the number of personnel having administrative privileges.
