What you need to know about ransomware?

Current situation all around the globe among the various companies is very fearsome owing to the loss of data or the asked ransom. The root cause considered to affect the internet-connected computers is the “ransomware.”

Are you aware of what is it exactly? Ransomware is actually a kind of malevolent software that is designed to carry out cryptoviral extortion attack using the cryptovirology that blocks use of data until a certain amount of ransom is paid. The computer screens have messages flashing to pay the ransom into the given account when the data is tried to be accessed. In case of an uncomplicated ransomware attack even an intelligent software person can retrieve the data but, similarly, in case of a complicated attack the decryption of the data is difficult until the ransom is paid. In certain conditions, the Master File table or the entire hard drive is encrypted, thus denying the user to access his or her critical files stored in the computer. The decryption is not possible without having the decryption key making the situation even worse.

In this attack, the controller uses the Trojan horse payload files to attack the computer user’s files. The recent WannaCrypt0r 2.0 bug has affected 2 Lakh systems across 150 countries and asked for a ransom of $300 to be paid in Bitcoins. Though the amount is paid there is no guarantee that the files will be restored or else the files, when opened, may have new malware attached to it. It is considered to be one of the most vicious cyberattack in the history. India is one of the most affected countries in the public and private sector and the Indians are working day and night to avoid such attack in the future.

Blow of the ransomware attack

Ransomware attack in a digital world of today is very crucial. The WannaCry attack has affected not only the larger or smaller firms but also the transportation, hospitals, or other public utility sectors. This attack literally brought a halt to the public utility sector for a day. Hence, a lot of hard work is being done by the IT professionals to any such attack in the near future.

Menace to India

Owing to the systems still working that are using the older operating systems version such as XP, Windows 97, Windows 98, and others in India, they are at a higher risk of being attacked. In addition to this, the use of unlicensed software and the low privacy or security issues could make the conditions worse.

How to tackle the attack?

The security software such as the deception technology or the offline storage of data in external storage drives are the best way to help protect losing the data completely.

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