My friend's coffee shop in Austin got hit with a ransomware attack

It happened about six weeks ago, and they lost all their point of sale data for a weekend. The attack came through a fake invoice email someone clicked. Now I use a password manager for everything and set up two-factor auth on my business accounts the next day. It made me realize how easy it is for a small shop to get targeted. Has anyone else had to help a local business recover from something like this?

4 comments

4 Comments

elizabeth_jackson1mo ago

Ugh, that's brutal. It reminds me of my cousin's bakery. They didn't get hit with ransomware, but their online ordering system got totally messed up for a week because their website host had a security hole. They were writing down orders on paper notepads and it was a huge mess. They lost a ton of catering orders because people couldn't trust the site. It's scary how one weak link can shut things down.

uma_baker8825d ago

@piper_flores69 nailed it with the fake invoice thing. My neighbor's landscaping company got hit by that exact trick, they paid a fake "supplier" invoice for soil and mulch without double checking. Three weeks later they figured it out, but the money was long gone. Total chaos for a small crew like that. One click or one wrong payment and you're toast.

alex_hall9125d ago

It's wild how this stuff just creeps into every part of running a business now. My neighbor runs a small plumbing company and he got an email that looked exactly like his gas supplier's invoice, down to the logo and font. He almost paid it until his wife noticed the email address was off by one letter. idk, it feels like the old days of just having a good product or service aren't enough anymore, you have to be a mini IT expert just to keep the lights on.

piper_flores691mo ago

Man, I read an article about how these attacks on small businesses are way up. They said the fake invoice trick is one of the most common ones going around right now.