Monthly Archives: September 2015

How Our Law Firm Survived a CryptoWall Ransomware Attack

Intellectual Property, Law Firm, Technology, , ,
How one Law Firm Survived a CryptoWall Ransomware Attack
How Our Law Firm Survived a CryptoWall Ransomware Attack

It started with an early Sunday morning phone call. A senior equity partner who writes whenever and wherever inspired complained, “I’m getting an error whenever I try to open Word or PDF documents.” Two hours, and a trip into the office later, we erroneously concluded our case file folder had been corrupted from an unsuccessful backup and a simple scan/repair job would have us back up and running.

Unfortunately, while the scan/repair utility sifted its way through 1.5 terabytes of files, a more destructive tool was worming its way through our network shares as well. It wasn’t until another partner emailed late Sunday evening to inquire about strange file names like “HELP_DECRYPT” saved in his case directory  did we realize we had a more serious problem on our hands. We’d been struck by the CryptoWall 3.0 ransomware virus! (Que Scary Music!)

What is CryptoWall 3.0?

“CryptoWall is “the largest and most destructive ransomware threat on the Internet “at the moment and will likely continue to grow.[1] Essentially, CryptoWall, an evolution from CryptoLocker, uses malware to copy and encrypt commonly used office file extensions, then deletes the original, leaving victims little or no options beyond paying a ransom or losing the ability to recover their files. In a law firm, losing client data, past and present, simply isn’t an option. In our case, the ransomers wanted $700 to supply the key to decrypt our files! Though we had roughly triple that amount in lost productivity and billable hours fixing this mess, negotiating with terrorist simply wasn’t an option! However, fortunately, if your organization has a cold backup the likelihood of recovery drastically increases.

When we investigated just how much the virus purveyed through our network, we noticed it was centralized in the heart of our operation, client case files, and law firm application data shares. Though we knew we had cold back-ups to restore from, we didn’t know if the virus had stopped spreading or even know where it originated. The last thing we wanted to do was to restore our files only to have them encrypted all over again!

$700 Ransom only doubles with time!
$700 Ransom only doubles with time!

Identifying the Source of the Virus

Once you notice your organization has been affected by CryptoWall, some engineers suggest you power down your network switch to prevent spreading. While this works for smaller networks, it may not be feasible, especially for larger organizations. I would simply suggest modifying share permissions to critical shared drives to prevent infected machines from writing to those drives and further spreading. Unfortunately, there is no administrator level method to determine which machine the virus originated from. I had to walk around to each and every machine in the law firm, install, and run applications such as MalwareBytes, Hitman Pro and ListCWall to scan, identify, and remove any locally infected files. Once we identified the source of the virus (HELP_DECRYPT files will appear locally), I scrubbed it clean and proceeded to delete and restore our files.

Restoring the Infected Files

There is something unnerving about deleting 1.5 terabytes of client files even when you know there is a backup, but it was necessary. Besides, all of it was utterly useless encrypted garbage at this point. After deleting, we used an application called Karen’s Replicator to replicate the cold backup drive to the previously infected share drive. It took approximately 2 days to restore 1.5 terabytes worth of data, but it worked, and so far, so good.

We also noticed that QuickBook files, both current, and backups were affected as well. Luckily, we were able to restore company files from previous routine bare metal Windows Server Backup.

How You Can Protect Your Network

The bottom line is this can happen to anyone. One erroneous click on the Internet, opening an attachment from even a trusted source whose email contacts have been compromised can unleash a world of hurt on law firms who increasingly rely on sensitive client data to operate. The more we embrace technology, the more vulnerable we become to it. Keeping end-users up-to-date with safe browsing practices is a start. TechRepublic has some great tips for keeping your network safe and avoiding the likes of CryptoWall 3.0.

[1] CryptoWall ransomware held over 600K computers hostage, encrypted 5 billion files, PCWorld (2014), http://www.pcworld.com/article/2600543/cryptowall-held-over-halfamillion-computers-hostage-encrypted-5-billion-files.html (last visited Sep 22, 2015).

Windows 10 vs. Rule 1.6

Ethical Compliance, Intellectual Property, Law Firm, Technology, ,
2015-05-13_02-07-12
Is Windows 10 Ethically Compliant?

Is Windows 10 MRPC Compatible?

Apparently, from the feedback I’m getting, Microsoft® finally got it right with Windows 10! As a legal technology professional I have been inundated with inquiries from attorneys on whether Windows 10 is worth the upgrade (even though it’s free), and if they should think about making the switch. My response has consistently been to wait.

First, like any new product I always suggest letting the manufacturer work out the kinks before jumping aboard. Similarly, like purchasing a new model year car, you never really want the first batch rolling off the assembly line. That said, after digging further under the hood, it appears there are other potential pitfalls with Windows 10 that could specifically leave attorneys on the wrong side of the rules of professional conduct!

EULA

What Windows 10 End User License Agreement Says

Apparently, Microsoft is following the footsteps of other “Big Data” mining companies and has gotten creative in their user terms and conditions. How creative you ask, well apparently creative enough to give Microsoft ingress to virtually any and all data you may have or had access to while using their operating system! This ingress gives Microsoft permission to track your location, activities, browser history, and more importantly, READ YOUR EMAILS! Further, there does not appear to be a way for less sophisticated users to disable these settings. This is why it’s so important to be aware of what’s in that End User License Agreement.

Moreover, as pointed out by Daily Kos, Microsoft’s privacy policy specifically states the following:

Finally, we will access, disclose and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails, other private communications or files in private folders), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to:

  1. comply with applicable law or respond to valid legal process, including from law enforcement or other government agencies;

  2. protect our customers, for example to prevent spam or attempts to defraud users of the services, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury of anyone;

  3. operate and maintain the security of our services, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks; or

  4. protect the rights or property of Microsoft, including enforcing the terms governing the use of the services – however, if we receive information indicating that someone is using our services to traffic in stolen intellectual or physical property of Microsoft, we will not inspect a customer’s private content ourselves, but we may refer the matter to law enforcement.[1]

Model-Rules-of-Professional-Conduct

What the Model Rules of Professional Conduct Say

Generally, under Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) Rule 1.6, a lawyer is prohibited from revealing any information related to the representation of a client. Either voluntarily or involuntarily, unless informed consent is given by his/her client.[2] Recently, the New York State Bar specifically addressed this very conceivable dilemma in its Opinion 782, which addressed inadvertent confidential data disclosures through email, opining in part that, “a lawyer must exercise reasonable care to ensure that he or she does not inadvertently disclose his or her client’s confidential information.”[3]

Though some disclosures are unavoidable, under MRPC 1.6, where “the disclosure is impliedly authorized to advance the best interest of the client and is either reasonable under the circumstances or customary in the professional community,” is permitted, however an attorney should always know what the data is, where it’s located, and who has access to it. Granted these rules were designed to regulate traditional vendors such as storage facilities or copy services, they are also relevant to any form of data transmission. One could arguably say that since there is little control over the settings that control the data sharing in Windows 10, or since the data mining is customary a lawyer should be in the clear, right? Wrong. The model rules consistently say attorneys should take reasonable steps to protect a client’s data at all times. This includes everything from choosing to forgo using Windows 10 all together, to familiarizing yourself with ways to prevent data ingress.

What Can You Do About It?

By now, I’m sure you’re thinking, it’s probably just not worth using Window’s 10 if you want to remain MRPC 1.6 compliant. I would tend to agree, especially at this stage when little is known about the vastness of Microsoft’s data mining. However, for those who have already made the switch, there are some options. As Jacob Siegal noted, a simple program called “The Windows Club” allows users to tweak Windows 10 in order to disable some pervasive features such as user tracking, telemetry, and hiding your network from others.[4] Additionally, I would not recommend integrating the same email address used for client data with the operating systems if prompted. Simply put, keep your business email separate from Windows 10 operating system. Of course, if you use an email client such as Outlook, this may be unavoidable. However, I’m specifically referring to the prompt for your email address when initially setting up the operating system. Either avoid supplying an email address all together, or if unavoidable, use an email address not associated with clients. Alternatively, to completely protect your neck, consider weaving in the possibility of ostensible third party data disclosures through the use of operating systems or cloud based data into your fee agreement.

Conclusion

The bottom line, use caution when implementing a new operating system, and use your best judgment when integrating your firm’s email with your operating system. Even with Windows 8, Microsoft wanted to link your email address to your operating system. Personally, I use Outlook Web App (OWA) for sending/receiving email to avoid using native programs such as Outlook. With today’s web (cloud) based email, virtually all the functionality of an email client is built right in. Of course, Ethical Compliance and Cloud Services for Law Firms is a whole other issue, but this generally means that one has taken reasonable steps to protect client data from being shared. This is really all you can do in order to be MRPC Rule 1.6 compliant.

[1] Windows 10 comes with built-in spyware. If your work requires confidentiality, DO NOT INSTALL., , http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/02/1408113/-Windows-10-comes-with-built-in-spyware-If-your-work-requires-confidentiality-DO-NOT-INSTALL (last visited Aug 31, 2015).

[2] New York City Bar Association – Ethics Overview – Ethics Panel, , http://www.nycbar.org/ethics/ethics-overview (last visited Nov 18, 2014).

[3] Id.

[4] Windows 10: Modify your OS with Ultimate Windows Tweaker 4 | BGR, , http://bgr.com/2015/08/28/windows-10-ultimate-tweaks-download/ (last visited Aug 31, 2015).