Читать книгу Cybersecurity For Dummies - Joseph Steinberg - Страница 113

Ransomware is computer malware that prevents users from accessing their files until they pay a ransom to some criminal or criminal enterprise. This type of cyberattack alone has already netted criminals billions of dollars (yes, that is billions with a b) and endangered many lives as infected hospital computer systems became inaccessible to doctors. In fact, there are multiple cases known today in which ransomware may have directly contributed to a person dying prematurely or unnecessarily.

Ransomware remains a growing threat, with criminals constantly improving the technical capabilities and earning potential of their cyberweapons. Criminals are, for example, crafting ransomware that, in an effort to obtain larger returns on investment, infects a computer and attempts to search through connected networks and devices to find the most sensitive systems and data. Then, instead of kidnapping the data that it first encountered, the ransomware activates and prevents access to the most valuable information.

Criminals understand that the more important the information is to its owner, the greater the likelihood that a victim will be willing to pay a ransom, and the higher the maximum ransom that will be willingly paid is likely to be.

Ransomware is growing increasingly stealthy and often avoids detection by antivirus software. Furthermore, the criminals who use ransomware are often launching targeted attacks against parties that they know have the ability to pay decent ransoms. Criminals know, for example, that the average American is far more likely to pay $200 for a ransom than the average person living in China. Likewise, they often target environments in which going offline has serious consequences — a hospital, for example, can’t afford to be without its patient records system for any significant period of time.