Saud Bin Ahmed – The First Emirati to Dismantle Ransomware

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Ransomware is a virus or malware from cryptovirology that poses a threat to leak the victim’s personal data or block access to the information permanently unless the user pays a ransom to get back the access. While some simple ransomware locks the system without causing any damage to the files, advanced malware use cryptoviral extortion that encrypts the victim’s files. This makes the data inaccessible, and a ransom is demanded to decrypt the data. Though there have been advancements when it comes to malware, Saud Bin Ahmed is the first Emirati to dismantle the ransomware in the UAE. His security and technical support company, UAESOS, helps clients in securing websites as well as electronic accounts.

Saud Bin Ahmed is a public figure, digital creator, entrepreneur, awareness film director, animation creator, and unlimited technology presenter at Sharjah Radio. Saud Bin Ahmed grew up in the world of information security and has been doing research and experiments since 2000. After his first-ever interview with Al-Khaleej newspaper in 2002, he has made appearances on many local and international press channels, including Sama Dubai TV, Abu Dhabi TV, Al Oula Radio, Sharjah Radio and Television, Kalba Channel, and Noor Dubai Radio.

Besides, Saud bin Ahmed has received several awards and honours from Their Highnesses in the UAE and official government departments: Certificate of Appreciation from the wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah for participating in the solidarity march for Syrian refugees. Moreover, the Emirates Academy for Identity and Citizenship honoured him for participating as a speaker in one of the axes of the scientific symposium, ‘The Future of Humanity in Light of Development that accelerated Artificial Intelligence’.

He received a certificate from the office of His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Saeed bin Tahnoun bin Muhammad Al Nahyan in the service of society, the Sharjah Radio, and Television Authority, for his active participation in the Al-Atheer programme via Sharjah Radio. The list of achievements doesn’t end here. Saud Bin Ahmed has also been appreciated for his constructive contribution to the technical security and stability of the institution and Global Jet Technic (GJT) for aircraft maintenance in recovering its hacked servers.

When it comes to dismantling ransomware, Saud Bin Ahmed shares a few simple steps that will help you dismantle, that too, without losing any data.

Step 01: Disconnect from the internet

The first and most important step is to remove all virtual and physical connections, including wireless and wired devices, storage media, external hard drives, and cloud accounts. This prevents the spread of ransomware viruses within the network.

Step 02: Scan with your internet security software

If you think any other areas have been affected, make sure to scan the virus using the internet security software you’ve installed. This highlights any dangerous files with threats and allows you to either delete or quarantine them. The files can be deleted manually or automatically using the antivirus software, however, manual removal is only recommended for tech-savvy users.

Step 03: Use a ransomware decryption tool

The next step involves using an appropriate decryption tool. If your computer is infected with a ransomware virus, a ransomware decryption tool will help you regain access to all the necessary information.

Step 04: Restore your backup

If you have backed up your data externally or in cloud storage, create a backup of your data that has not yet been encrypted by ransomware. Not having any backups makes cleaning and restoring a lot more difficult. It is recommended to create backups regularly. If you tend to forget about such things, use automatic cloud backup services or set alerts in your calendar to remind you.

Though following these tips will be helpful, consulting a cybersecurity firm such as UAESOS can sometimes aid in ensuring a risk-free environment for protecting the network, data, and devices against all cyber threats. The services of UAESOS revolve around information technology network risk management, information security, and information technology consulting. The company serves as per its motto, that is, ‘Safe and hack-free society.’

Saud Bin Ahmed shares his experience by saying, “I have been managing the server for Global Jet Technic Company since 2020, and I provided excellent services and managing aviation maintenance servers, and security, safety of their websites and incident in early 2020. I have successfully recovered their server, which was hacked.”

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