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    • Securing against cyber attacks

    Omega was not affected by the recent international cyber attack, WannaCry, due to preventative measures that were put in place for IT security. Department Manager for Omega’s IT and Infrastructure Department, Jan Christian Brataas, encourages users to take simple, precautionary measures to protect their machine from potential future attacks.

    The international cyber attack has affected more than 100 countries and 200 000 units. Microsoft released a security update in March to remove a weakness in Windows and Omega’s IT Department worked systematically through the servers and ensured that they were all updated. 

    IT security tips 

    • Keep your computer and other equipment updated
    • Be critical; do not open attachments and click on links in emails that look suspicious and are from unknown senders 
    • Do not click on pop-up windows 
    • Be critical of free computer programs 
    • Ensure that you know who is performing updates on your computer and maintaining your equipment 
    • Do not download or install something you have not requested 
    • Never give away your user information
    • Use two-step verification for passwords when possible
    • Change your password to something complex which is easy to remember, for example a sentence about a memory 

    “In light of the recent virus attack, an extra check of the security update on Windows was mobilized,” says Department Manager, Jan Christian Brataas.

    Increased focus on IT security

    CEO for Omega Project Personnel, Anders Lunde, explains that they have noticed an increased focus from clients on IT security this year. Phishing, emails and phone calls that are directed to a user with the intention of retrieving user information and passwords, are especially a concern.

    “Hackers are improving when it comes to making emails that look authentic. These are not always easy to detect when going through an already-full inbox, but we need to be aware, warns Lunde and further emphasizes that it is important that consultants from Omega who are on assignment, follow the guidelines they receive from the client in order to ensure that Omega does not do anything that can be harmful."  

    Preventative measures

    Omega runs the majority of its business through computers and other equipment, and servers and systems are at the heart of the operation.

    “We have put in place several measures and followed guidelines from the academic community; we can see that this has been a crucial factor in us not having registered any “crypto events” since the attack started. We will keep working on the quality assurance of our implemented measures, and focus on the continual improvement of security in Omega’s internal systems and on the Pims Cloud,” Brataas adds.

    From left: Department Manager for Omega's IT and Infrastructure Department, Jan Christian Brataas, together with CEO for Omega Project Personnel, Anders Lunde.

    "We have managed to put the breaks on the attack, but we expect that there will be more and similar attacks in the future. They will most likely use the same mechanism for spreading the virus that we saw this time, so it spreads with great speed. What each and every one of us needs to ensure now is that our computers are updated," says Brataas.

    “In 2017, we have turned on the scanning of attachments in emails. We know that some emails take longer to open because of this, but in return it ensures we are safe in case anything should turn up in the inbox,” explains Brataas.