Ransomware is a shorthand way of saying "ransom malware", and much like
its name implies, it is a type
of malware which denies the user access to a part of their system in
exchange for a ransom payment. The creator of such a program reaches out to the
victim with a set of instructions (usually to send the money in the form of a cryptocurrency or
through a credit card) in exchange to regain control over their machine or that
part of their system.
Common and Recent Examples
Today, ransomware can be defined in three different types. Scareware, which is basically a hacker or advertisement trying to scare the target user that their machine has been compromised with some malware. Typically, this type of ransomware continues to spam your screen under the pretense that your files are at risk or they claim to have some sensitive information about you after hacking into your machine. It becomes tricky for targets as more often than not, the hacker doesn't have any sensitive information about the target but exposed malware on the target's machine makes it think the whole system is compromised and led the target to believe they had even bigger leverage and control over them and their system to damage the target.
Screen-lockers are another common type that has
become prevalent in recent years and this type of ransomware is much more
worrisome than scareware. Usually, the victim would turn on their machine and
immediately be greeted by a seal of some authoritarian federal police force;
like say, the FBI, claiming that the machine was involved in some illegal
activities with a message under the seal. At the same time, this message would
tell the person that they must pay a fine for the crimes.
The final type of ransomware is encrypting
ransomware which is more granular than a screen-locker. At the
core of it, the hacker designs the software to encrypt specific files on the
system and then prevent a user from accessing these files until the ransom is
paid. Typically, this method is the most nefarious because there's no way to
recover the files and if the hacker chooses not to, they can hold onto the
files even after the ransom is paid; making them gone forever.
Some other very notable and common
ransomware attacks are WannaCry, NotPetya, and Locky. WannaCry used a
vulnerability found in Microsoft's Server Message Block (SMB) protocol to
cripple banks, law agencies, and a slew of other core infrastructures. NotPetya
was a later variant of WannaCry which used the same vulnerability while Locky
was an email-based variant using a phishing attack. NotPetya and
WannaCry can be defined as encrypting ransomware while Locky would be scareware
and all three were quite prevalent back in 2017.
Prevention Against Ransomware
First and foremost, in the case of protection against ransomware, one should invest into reliable AntiVirus software such as Norton, MacAfee, and Malwarebytes; a piece of software which protected all of its premium users from the computer virus and malware including ransomware.
Failing that, regular data backups is
always a good habit to develop. Utilizing cloud storage with Two
Factor Authentication (2FA) for security is a good way to ensure your
files are secure. Physical external hard-drives or USBs are also good
alternatives as well.
It's quite a cliche but the age-old
truth of ensuring your system is up to date protects your machine from more
viruses and threats than many realize. WannaCry, one of the biggest ransomware
of 2017, took advantage of a vulnerability found in software which is now
outdated. Developing a habit to update your system regularly prevents from
unforeseen threats from various malware and ransomware and keep your system
healthy. Utilizing cloud storage and making offline backups of your important
data are critical in reducing risk from ransomware.
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