Our Mission in Action: Aiding the FBI in their Crackdown on Cybercrime

Last fall, we reported on Cryptolocker, a vicious strain of malware that locked down and held victims' files for ransom. Cryptolocker made headlines not only because of its tactics, but also because it was widespread. It made it through even top-of-the-line anti-malware safeguards.

Several of our clients were among those affected. Thankfully, none of them had lasting damage. We were able to both remove the Cryptolocker malware and restore the data that it had encrypted, all while keeping downtime to a minimum.

If we had stopped there, we would have provided our clients with excellent service. And while that is certainly part of our mission as a company, our mission statement also dictates that we aim "to establish trusting partnerships with clients, vendors, and the community." In the case of Cryptolocker and other widespread cyberattacks, we feel like having a trusting partnership with our community means reporting our findings to law enforcement agencies that can crack down on the source of such attacks.

That's why we wasted no time in reporting what we learned about Cryptolocker in the field to the FBI. As members of broader technology and business communities, we felt we had the responsibility to do everything in our power to help make sure this threat was dealt with as quickly as possible.

Recently, we received notification from the FBI that our efforts had indeed helped them find and put an end to the botnet that was being used to disseminate Cryptolocker. Our extra effort in filing a detailed complaint paid off. By aiding the authorities in their mission to protect individuals and businesses everywhere from cybercrime, we lived out our mission to be a benefit not only to our clients, but also to the community at large.