On the 12th May 2017 a new strain of the Ransom.CryptXXX (WannaCry) strain of ransomware began spreading widely impacting a large number of organizations, particularly in Europe.
WannaCry is demanding a ransom of $300 to $600 in Bitcoin to be paid by 15th May, or, in the event that deadline is missed, a higher fee by 19th May.
The messages left on the screen say files will remain encrypted.
It’s not yet clear if there are flaws in the encryption scheme that might allow the victims to restore the files without paying the ransom.
It is believed that this ransomware was part of the attack against the NHS which has left many of their IT Systems down.
As a general rule you should always try to be vigilant when opening emails with attachments from unknown senders or if the email seems a little out of character. If in ANY doubt, please delete the email and contact the sender to confirm if it is genuine and if so ask them to resend, BEFORE you attempt to open the attachment.