The below email was sent to faculty/staff on Friday 5/12. The ITS Help Desk has since received a number of reports of failed updates and is working to investigate these as quickly as possible. ITS will be directly contacting those who our records show have computers missing the Windows patch that protects against the current ransomware attack and will address those as the top priority.

EMAIL SENT FRIDAY PM 5/12/17
Subject: [DUFacStaff] ALERT – PLEASE TAKE ACTION – Global Ransomware Attack on Windows PCs

To all campus Windows PC users:

Summary
We have been alerted to a worldwide ransomware attack on Windows pcs going on right now. Windows computer users need to immediately apply patches and reboot their computer if their system updates are out of date.

Detail
This attack began around 3:00PM today. It exploits a vulnerability in what appears to be all Windows operating systems. Windows systems (PCs and servers) that do not have current security patches are vulnerable to this cyber attack which could lock down and encrypt your computer hard drive until a ransom is paid. Once a single person clicks on the phishing message, the virus could spread throughout the entire network.

ITS has scanned all computers on campus (with the exception of personally managed systems) and have found 81 computers across campus that have downloaded the Windows updates, but have not taken the time to apply the updates.

It is CRITICAL that you verify that your PC has applied the most recent Windows operating system security update in order to secure your system and university data.

If you are running Windows 7 – Click start, type “windows update” in the search box, then click “Windows update” in the search results. In the left pane click “Check for updates”.

If you are running Windows 10 – Click the “Search Windows” icon next to the start button, type “check for updates” and click the result of the same name. On the window that appears, click “check for updates”.

For questions, please contact the ITS Help Desk 740.587.6395 or helpdesk@denison.edu. Staff will be available Monday morning to assist.

PS: Check your home computers also!