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Ransomware is rapidly shaping up to be the defining online security issue of our time. A callously simple idea executed with increasing sophistication by criminal groups. A huge portion of our lives is now stored digitally, whether it is photos, videos, business plans or customer databases.
The online criminals brilliant twist was to realize that they do not have to steal data to make money: they just have to make it impossible to access it — by encrypting it — unless we pay up.
Ransomware was once a menace mainly for consumers, but now it is a significant threat to business. These groups of criminals are smart, sophisticated and, because about half of companies pay the ransoms, very well funded. Most of these groups have access to highly skilled hackers and software developers capable of bypassing network defences on all different levels. How skilled? When a version of their malware is spotted by the defences on victim networks, the group is often back with an undetectable version just a short time after.
The targets of the ransomware rings have evolved, too. It is not just about PCs anymore; these hackers want to go after the irreplaceable business assets too, which means file servers, database services, virtual machines and cloud environments. They will also search out and encrypt any backups that organizations foolishly leave connected to the network. All of this makes it that much harder for victims to recover — unless of course they want to pay the ransom.
Police forces, lacking officers trained in high-tech crime, are reluctant to investigate cases such as cyber attacks knowing that the perpetrators will be far from their jurisdiction and impossible to capture. Many businesses would rather pay up, return to business as usual and forget about the cost and the stress of the whole ordeal.
Another concern is that, as they become more confident and better funded, these criminal groups will raise their sights even higher. One new worrying trend is these cyber rings will steal the data as well as encrypt the network. They then threaten to leak the data as a means of pressuring the victim into paying up.
There is no foreseeable end to the ransomware nightmare in sight. Indeed, the likelihood is it will get even worse.
All hope is not lost however, there are companies actively counteracting the current cyber attacks by providing a strong line of defence and evolving as the new cyber threats become more sophisticated. Companies such as Biz Rescue Pro are here to help you identify a cyber threat and recover your information. For more details, Biz Rescue Pro can be reached at…
