{"id":6285,"date":"2016-05-03T07:00:12","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T15:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/?p=6285"},"modified":"2016-03-27T11:20:28","modified_gmt":"2016-03-27T19:20:28","slug":"security-extortion-by-ransomware-cases-expected-to-increase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/security-extortion-by-ransomware-cases-expected-to-increase\/","title":{"rendered":"Security: Extortion by Ransomware Cases Expected to Increase"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ransomware<\/a>. \u00a0It’s a new type of malware\/cyber attack\u00a0that\u00a0has recently been in the news and which\u00a0is causing serious damage to\u00a0some organizations. \u00a0While encryption is typically used defensively to hide and secure information, ransomware\u00a0offensively applies\u00a0encryption to\u00a0data stored on a\u00a0computer, making it unreadable to the owners of the data. \u00a0The owner are then forced\u00a0to pay \u00a0a ransom before being\u00a0able to regain access to their data. Attackers typically demand payment in bitcoin because it can’t be traced. This kind of cyber attack\u00a0basically turns the use of encryption on its head.<\/p>\n

According to the FBI<\/a>, in 2015 there were 2453 reported cases of ransomware incidents and payments of move than $24 million were made to regain data.<\/p>\n

The solution to ransomware is to maintain good backups of data and to frequently monitor network activity. \u00a0But backups should be on external disks are stored remotely or else they may end up being attacked as well as the live data.<\/p>\n

Mac McMillan<\/a>, CEO of\u00a0CynegisTek , said that<\/a> \u201corganizations with a good defense-in-depth strategy, advanced detection capabilities and solid response and contingency plans will fare far better when attacked.\u00a0Make no mistake about it. Protecting information assets is a business issue and organizations that don’t recognize this will pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian Spector<\/a>, CEO of MIRACL, said that\u00a0<\/a>\u201cpublic institutions like hospitals are a key target for hackers because they hold such a treasure trove of personal data. In the US, the potential bounty is even larger, due to the additional layer of financial transactions taking place.”<\/p>\n

Travis Smith<\/a>, senior security researcher at\u00a0Tripwire, said that<\/a> “since most ransomware samples we have seen have a time limit to pay, it\u2019s important to have confidence that you can restore the majority of data on short notice. Organizations should focus on improving backup and restoration procedures to reduce the cost of restoring data and services after a potential breach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris Stangl<\/a>, a section chief at the FBI\u2019s Cyber Division, said that <\/a>ransomware cases are\u00a0\u201ca prevalent, increasing threat, [but] the only reason why these campaigns are successful is because people pay.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Ransomware. \u00a0It’s a new type of malware\/cyber attack\u00a0that\u00a0has recently been in the news and which\u00a0is causing serious damage to\u00a0some organizations. \u00a0While encryption is typically used defensively to hide and secure information, ransomware\u00a0offensively applies\u00a0encryption to\u00a0data stored on a\u00a0computer, making it unreadable…<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more ›<\/a><\/div>\n

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