LATEST INTELLIGENCE
A RAPIDLY GROWING THREAT:
A SCOURGE CALLED
RANSOMWARE
PRESENTED BY
O
ver the past three years, ransomware has
jumped into the spotlight of the cyberthreat
landscape. Kaspersky Lab reports that in
2015, its solutions detected ransomware on more
than 50,000 computers in corporate networks-double
the figure for 2014.
Even at this rate of detection, Kaspersky admits that
the real number of incidents is several times higher
than what has been detected and reported.
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In just the first quarter of 2016, US$209 million was
paid out to cyber criminals using ransomware. The
FBI estimates that losses to be incurred in 2016 due
to ransomware will top US$1 billion. Once again, this
is just the tip of the iceberg.
Just what is this scourge called ransomware?
It is malicious software that allows a hacker to
restrict access to an individual’s or company’s vital
information in some way, and then demand some
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INTELLIGENTCIO
form of payment to lift the restriction. The most
common form of restriction today is encryption of
important data on the computer or network,
which essentially lets the attacker hold user data or
a system hostage. Payment in Bitcoins is the typical
demand, as the digital currency is both global
and anonymous.
Ransomware attacks are rapidly growing in
popularity with cybercriminals, and for good reason:
it’s estimated that this type of attack earns criminals
US$10 million to US$50 million a month.
The notion of ransomware has actually been around
for quite some time.
In 1989, Dr Joseph Popp distributed a Trojan called
PC Cyborg in which malware would hide all folders
and encrypt files on the PC C: drive. A script delivered
a ransom message demanding that US$189 be
directed to the PC Cyborg Corporation.
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