What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the victim’s personal data, demanding a payment in cryptocurrencies. Payments are often difficult to trace and can even be made by individuals, so the criminals who make these demands remain anonymous.
According to security research firm Symantec, ransomware attacks were once primarily targeted at consumers, but have since moved to target enterprises and organisations, and now represent the majority of malware infections. Ransomware attacks can be spread via email attachments, phishing emails, or by exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities on web servers and workstations.
Once ransomware gains access to a system, it begins to encrypt files and replace them with the encrypted versions, thereby blocking access. The attackers may also delete backup and shadow copies of the affected files to ensure that these cannot be recovered without the decryption key.
A successful ransomware attack can be lucrative for the criminals behind it, and they will likely continue to invest time and resources in developing new strains that are more effective and difficult to detect. In addition, their outsized paydays will motivate them to take on bigger and better targets.
The best way to mitigate the effects of a ransomware attack is to have comprehensive backups of digital data that are stored on systems and devices separate from your centralized network. This approach can help reduce the amount of data lost to a ransomware attack and allow your organisation to return to normal more quickly.