What Is Ransomware And How Can You Prevent It?
Introduction
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts files on a computer and then demands payment in exchange for the key to unlock them. The ransom demand usually includes instructions for how to retrieve the files, but sometimes nothing more than an email address is given. In any case, if you don’t pay up before your PC has been infected with ransomware, you will receive no help from IT security experts or even law enforcement agencies when it comes time to decrypt your personal data.
What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the victim’s files and then demands a ransom to decrypt them. The reason this happens is because ransomware attacks are usually carried out by infecting the victim’s computer with a virus.
The virus will then encrypt all of your data, particularly your photos and videos, so that you can no longer access those files until you pay up. You may also be asked to provide personal information such as an email address or password so that they can send more money to cover their costs in decrypting your files.
How victims are made?
The security firm Trend Micro reports that phishing has been a recurrent social engineering attack since its first recorded instance in the early 1980s. It’s no less common today, with phishing being one of the most widely used methods for distributing ransomware.
Victims of malware are usually infected through compromised email attachments or links disguised as legitimate. Within a network of computers, one single victim can be enough to compromise an entire organization.
Exploit kits: a package made of various malicious tools, including pre-written exploit code. These are designed to take advantage of weaknesses in software applications — most commonly old versions of operating systems like Windows XP or Vista — by spreading malware as a way to gain control over computers that use them
Malvertising: attackers distribute ransomware through advertising networks.
How to protect yourself from ransomware attacks?
If you’re a person who receives an email from someone you don’t know, it’s best to just delete it and move on. However, if the email contains an attachment or link and asks for payment in exchange for access to your files, then think twice before clicking on anything in the message.
If possible, do not open any attachments unless they are from known contacts or companies that have been verified online as legitimate sources (like banks). If there is no way of verifying the source of an attachment before opening it — and especially if there isn’t any information about who sent it — then don’t do so! Your computer should always be protected by antivirus software; it should also be updated regularly so that all malware infections can be detected early enough so as not to cause problems down the line when trying desperately hard not leave any traces behind after making changes (this includes passwords).
Ransomware examples
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the user’s files and then demands payment to decrypt them.
Ransomware has been around since the early 2000s, but it wasn’t until 2017 that ransomware became such a problem that governments began taking notice: WannaCry in May and Bad Rabbit in November 2017 were both big hits with cybercriminals, causing widespread disruption across many countries around the world.
GrandCrab (2018)
The latest version of the GrandCrab ransomware was discovered in June 2018.
The malware was spread through phishing emails that contained malicious attachments, which were then downloaded onto victims’ computers when they opened the file. The ransomware encrypted files on a victim’s computer and demanded a ransom payment to decrypt them.
WannaCry (2017)
WannaCry (known as WNCRY) is a ransomware virus that targets Microsoft Windows computers. It was first discovered in May 2017 and has been used in several cyberattacks since then, including one involving the National Health Service (NHS).
It’s believed to be the work of North Korea, which may have gained access to NSA tools during its hacking campaign against Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014.
Bad Rabbit (2017)
Bad Rabbit (2017)
Bad Rabbit was a ransomware attack that targeted Russian users. It used a worm-like technique to spread across networks and then encrypt files, making them inaccessible. The payload also contained links to other malicious content which could be downloaded onto victims’ computers by clicking on them, or by visiting the attacker’s website.
The attack used a variant of the Petya ransom Trojan, known as BadRabbit 2.2 ransomware,[1] which was first seen in 2016.[2][3] Unlike earlier iterations that targeted Ukrainian businesses,[4] this version targeted Russian organizations rather than individuals.[5] A fake Adobe Flash update was distributed through email attachments with infected Word documents[6][7], while others were distributed via fake news articles on websites such as Sputnik News,[8] MailOnline,[9][10].
Locky (2016)
Locky (2016) is a ransomware that was first discovered in February 2016. It was distributed via spam emails, and the malware was used to encrypt files on computers and servers. The ransomware demands payment from users to decrypt their files, which can be done by sending an email with a payment link or downloading Tor Browser.
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped you understand ransomware and how it works. If you want to learn more about the topic, we cover it in more depth on our site. This should give you plenty of information on how to avoid getting infected by these kinds of attacks, as well as what actions need to be taken if they do happen.
