{"id":25756,"date":"2026-05-25T16:46:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T07:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/fit\/?p=25756"},"modified":"2026-05-26T10:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T00:34:40","slug":"cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/fit\/2026\/05\/25\/cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"\u202fCyber Awareness \u2013 Ransomware attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Ransomware continues to pose a significant threat to institutional systems and data. Attackers commonly exploit phishing emails, weak\u00a0credentials\u00a0and\u00a0unpatched systems to gain access.\u00a0Once activated, ransomware can lock your files and demand payment to restore access.\u00a0Paying does not guarantee recovery.<\/p>\n

Help to protect yourself and Flinders<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Be cautious with emails. Verify the sender and never click on buttons or links in the message body and don’t open or download any suspicious attachments.<\/li>\n
  2. Use strong passwords and enable multifactor authentication where available.<\/li>\n
  3. Avoid visiting unsafe websites
    \n– Legitimate sites handling sensitive data usually display a padlock icon in the browser. (You can view this by clicking the site information icon in the address bar)
    \n– Be cautious of misspelled addresses (e.g. micros0ft.com)
    \n– Avoid sites with constant or suspicious pop-ups.<\/li>\n
  4. Beware of free downloads, pirated software and pop-ups.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Warning signals<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. You cannot access your devices, or your login doesn\u2019t work for unknown reasons.<\/li>\n
    2. Files request a password or a code to open or access them.<\/li>\n
    3. Files have moved or aren\u2019t in their usual folders.<\/li>\n
    4. Files have unusual file extensions, or their names or icons have changed to something strange.<\/li>\n
    5. You receive sudden requests to enable macros.<\/li>\n
    6. There are pop-up messages demanding payment to unlock files.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      If you believe you are affected by a ransomware incident<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Disconnect from all networks, but do not power off your device.<\/li>\n
      2. Do not attempt to fix the issue yourself.<\/li>\n
      3. Report it immediately to the Service Desk on (08) 8201 2345.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Ransomware continues to pose a significant threat to institutional systems and data. Attackers commonly exploit phishing emails, weak\u00a0credentials\u00a0and\u00a0unpatched systems to gain access.\u00a0Once activated, ransomware can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5570,"featured_media":25757,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7718,50584],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-information-and-digital-services","category-staff"],"yoast_head":"\n\u202fCyber Awareness \u2013 Ransomware attacks - Flinders In Touch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u202fCyber Awareness \u2013 Ransomware attacks - Flinders In Touch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  Ransomware continues to pose a significant threat to institutional systems and data. Attackers commonly exploit phishing emails, weak\u00a0credentials\u00a0and\u00a0unpatched systems to gain access.\u00a0Once activated, ransomware can […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/fit\/2026\/05\/25\/cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Flinders In Touch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/flindersuniversity\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T07:16:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-26T00:34:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/fit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2026\/05\/Cybersecurity-ransomware.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"901\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"507\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carole Lydon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Flinders\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Flinders\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carole Lydon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\\\/fit\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/25\\\/cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\\\/fit\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/25\\\/cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carole Lydon\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\\\/fit\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6360d974895e6d145d32bdadc23aeb39\"},\"headline\":\"\u202fCyber Awareness \u2013 Ransomware attacks\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T07:16:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-26T00:34:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\\\/fit\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/25\\\/cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":255,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\\\/fit\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/25\\\/cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\\\/fit\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/19\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/Cybersecurity-ransomware.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Information and Digital Services\",\"Staff\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\\\/fit\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/25\\\/cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\\\/fit\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/25\\\/cyber-awareness-ransomware-attacks\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u202fCyber Awareness \u2013 Ransomware attacks - 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