Ransomware – Ransomware is firmly in the Spotlight
With high-profile attacks against critical infrastructure and private companies making headlines on a regular basis, Ransomware is firmly in the spotlight. These attacks can disrupt business, cause supply chain disruptions leading to shortages, cost businesses a significant amount of money for each day (or even hour) their networks are unavailable, and leave them with the choice of paying hackers an untraceable fee or hiring security professionals to restore access to their networks.
Ransomware is malware that, once infected, encrypts a user’s files. This encryption process is mathematically impossible to reverse, and the victim is presented with a message explaining that their files are now inaccessible and will only be decrypted if they pay an untraceable ransom.
Cybercriminals are behind the recent surge in ransomware attacks. This growth has been driven by a combination of factors, including the fact that the encryption process is relatively simple and that victims have shown themselves to be willing to pay ransoms in exchange for unlocking their data. Additionally, cybercriminals have found that attacking large corporations offers a better opportunity for success than attacking individuals.
The most popular ransomware is CryptoLocker, which was first introduced in 2014 and has since spawned many copycats. Another example is the more sophisticated Ryuk, which can infect up to 1,000 machines per second. Ryuk is notable for its ability to disable a machine’s keyboard and mouse, leaving the user locked out of their system until they pay a ransom, usually in the form of Bitcoin.