Leonardo to Roll Out Anti-Ransom Tool

When a wave of ransom-requesting cyber attacks hit computers across the globe, Leonardo cyber-security experts had already warned clients that a larger-than-usual strike was about to hit. Now, the company is set to roll out a new weapon against hackers, according to Bloomberg.

The Rome-based defense company, which counts the U.K. Ministry of Defence, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Italy’s civil service among its 3,000 cyber-security clients, will roll out new technology this week to prevent ransomware attacks, Andrea Biraghi, managing director of the security and information systems division, said in an interview.

In a memo a few weeks earlier, when the infection was in its early stages, Leonardo advised companies and institutions to run updates for the latest Microsoft software, from which the attack was perpetrated, and to refresh back-up processes. The warning was based on open-source technology which allows analysts to surf chat rooms and websites in the "deep web," an area not accessible via traditional browsers.

According to Biraghi, who oversees Leonardo’s cyber-security operations globally, the attack was “a wake-up call.“ Unlike past cyber-attacks that targeted individual companies this one was a simultaneous mass strike mostly focusing on individuals.

Leonardo’s new software will help fight back ransom attacks and will intercept potential invasions by blocking data cryptography. It will also double up on data back-ups in anticipation of future ransom malware able to bypass behavioral-based antiviruses.