What Is A Ransomware Attack And Are You Vulnerable ?

Osterman Research did a survey on June of 2016 and per the results, approximately 50% of organizations have been affected by ransomware and now its come to light that North Korean cyber criminal groups which are funded by the government are most likely the cause of many attacks . The infection rates will continue to rise and more attention and more money is being allocated to finding ways to keep the machines safe and virus free.

In order to accomplish this, the organizations first need to comprehend how the ransomware works and attacks their computers. Only then can they begin to protect their computer systems. Here are some of the more common ways that ransomware delivers the virus to computers and how you can avoid this risk.

Stages Of Ransomware – Your computer is attacked in one of two methods. Either by you or someone clicking on a link that has a virus in an attachment in an email or by clicking on a link on a website that has been compromised. This is how it’s typically delivered and it can have devastating effects on your computer system.

Execution – Once in, the authors will leverage the minor modifications on your system. They will inject the virus and use methods to ensure that their virus is sneaking past your antivirus program. Now it can enter your entire system and begin to encrypt your files so that you can’t access them. Some of the ransomware will only attack specific files such as .docx or .xlsx and so on. This can then spread to mapped network drives and wreck havoc on your entire system. Other computers and systems are also at risk if you are connected to them.

Encryption – Frequently, the encryption process will happen in a matter of seconds, sometimes minutes. Malware researchers have clocked the version of ransomware Chimera at a mere 18 seconds. The files are inaccessible and they are given new names with new extensions and you can’t access them at all.

Ransom Demand – Now that your computer is infected, you’re going to try and access your files. When this happens you’re going to receive a message demanding a ransom or fine to gain access to your files. It may be in the form of bitcoins (less traceable) and they’ll send you a decryption key. Once the deadline has passed, the ransom will either increase, or your files will be destroyed.

How To Stop Ransomware – Additionally, if you’re trying to prevent ransomware, you’re going to have to make it very challenging for it to enter into your computer.

Your anti-virus and anti-malware may help, however, it may not. It will depend on the specific virus that they are launching. It can be challenging to determine the various solutions.

You’ll want the ability to detect whether or not your computer is infected and restore the data. This can be challenging as well. You can rely on a few other things, however: Backups are one way although not always reliable, they may be able to reset your data to the point that the backup stops at.You can also do a system reset, however, again, that will only take you back to the last thing you saved. Always guard your data.