How Ransomware Affects Businesses
Ransomware encrypts important digital files and demands payment to unlock them. The attack is costly to business productivity and profits and, in some cases, can put a business out of operation entirely.
Hospitals, schools, government agencies, law enforcement, small businesses—these are just some of the entities that have been impacted by ransomware in recent years. And attacks are showing no sign of slowing down.
When a ransomware attack occurs, victims are notified via a screen lock or other method that they have to pay a certain amount of cryptocurrency (commonly bitcoin) to unlock their systems and regain access to their data. Victims are warned that if they don’t pay, the hackers may make their stolen data public or sell it on the dark web—part of the Internet that’s inaccessible through regular Web browsers.
Even if a victim pays the ransom, the decryption key to unlock their data is not guaranteed. Some malware variants install additional malicious software after the ransom is paid, resulting in ongoing attacks against the victims’ systems.
Cyber criminals use a variety of methods to infiltrate networks with ransomware, including spam email attachments that deliver the malware, downloading through social engineering, clicking on fake ads, and more. And the laws that govern cyber crimes aren’t commensurate with the harm that these attacks cause.
A common defense strategy against ransomware is for organizations to follow best practices and keep system backups. This includes keeping all operating systems updated with the latest security patches and installing anti-malware software that detects and prevents the threat from infecting a network.