Scott R. Davis will be a panelist at the second annual Central Pennsylvania Business Journal's Cyber Security Symposium alongside Randy Coneby (RKL LLP) and Clinton Eppleman (Morefield Communications).

Scott Davis speaks at the 20th annual Contractor Connection Conference and Expo in Indianapolis, one of the largest expos in the North American restoration industry.

HARRISBURG, Pa. – In the wake of the “WannaCry” ransomware attack that has affected hundreds of thousands of computers around the world, experts are renewing the call for people to be vigilant about their use of technology and to protect themselves.

“These types of attacks are probably going to become more common especially since computers are almost everywhere now,” Andrew Hacker, a cybersecurity expert and professor at Harrisburg University, said.

Some of the critical ways to ensure your computer’s security include making sure your computer stays updated with patches for your operating system and not opening or downloading attachments from sources you cannot trust.

“WannaCry” is particularly dangerous because it goes beyond what most ransomware does.

“The malware installs itself on the computer, it goes and tracks down your files, encrypts, but then also spreads via network, so if you’re in a corporate network, if one machine gets infected, it actually goes out and actively searches for other computers on the network to infect as well,” Hacker said.

A developer identified a ‘kill switch’ in the source code of the ransomware, rendering it ineffective, but the concern is that will only slow the attack rather than stop it.

“There’s already new variants out there that are using these same methodology, that are using this same patch, that, if unpatched, you are open to the latest variants,” Scott Davis, with IntermixIT in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, said.

View the article on Fox43 News.

Critical IT Security Protections Every Business Should have in Place as presented to a client’s partners.

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Leaders in the Senate Democratic caucus are hoping to have some of their IT systems back online by the end of the week, state Sen. Jay Costa told FOX43 Wednesday.

Senate Democratic lawmakers and their staffs were the target of a ransomware attack late last week that has held their data hostage unless the caucus pays the attackers a ransom.

” Folks are adjusting well and they recognize the predicament that we’re in,” Costa (D – Allegheny County) said. “They’re basically resorting to their own devices to be able to communicate.”

The FBI and Microsoft, which loaned out more than 100 laptops to workers after the cyber attack, are working with the Democratic caucus to get to the root of the attack.

“I just think it might have been something as an opportunity target as opposed to Democrats are being targeted,” Costa said.

“It generates money for the people who [sic] are creating and sharing these paths, so ransomware is not going away, and being proactive, being reactive are really the only things you can do,” Scott Davis, with IntermixIT, a cyber-security firm in Lower Paxton Township, said.

View full article at Fox43 News.

Inside Crypto Viruses or Ransomware speech given at HYP Toastmasters meeting (Speech 4 Technical Presentations) on July 22, 2014. I discuss Cryptolocker, CryptoWall and CryptoDefense and some of the latest news and preventative tools available and what IntermixIT is doing to protect against ransomware.