Malware, called ransomware, prevents a user or business from accessing files on a computer. Cyberattackers put firms in a situation where paying the ransom is the quickest and least expensive option to recover access to their files by encrypting them and requesting a ransom payment for the decryption key.
Ransomware is a form of malware that locks your computer up until you pay it a ransom to restore its functionality. This kind of malware spreads via phishing emails and malicious attachments. However, it is possible to detect and prevent it. There are five questions you should ask and know the answer to what is ransomware. Before letting your computer be infected.
Locks your computer
A ransomware infection is a virus that locks your computer until you pay the ransom. It’s typically a non-binary file encrypted and requests money in exchange for the decryption key. This infection can be downloaded from websites, mapped network drives, and malicious ZIP files.
Cybercriminals usually target organizations that can pay a large sum quickly. These targets include medical facilities, banks, and government organizations. Cybercriminals have even targeted law firms and organizations that can produce a large amount in Bitcoin.
Phishing emails
In phishing emails, a scammer poses as an executive at a large company to lure consumers into divulging their sensitive information. Usually, scammers use a sense of urgency to entice consumers to click a link or open an attachment. However, once the consumer opens the message, the computer may become infected with malicious malware.
Although phishing emails are the most common method of ransomware infection, they’re not the only source. For example, some ransomware infections spread through chat messages or removable USB drives.
Malicious attachments
This type of malware can be highly damaging to your computer. In addition, it will attempt to make you pay money in exchange for access to your files. Fortunately, there are several ways to remove ransomware.
Many of these infections spread through malicious websites or spam emails, and some are also dropped by other malware. These attacks are often undetected and hard to detect, so updating your antivirus and security software is essential. In addition, always install software updates for your computer, as these updates often contain security patches that can help prevent ransomware infections.
It can be detected
Ransomware is a form of computer virus. It can infect organizations through multiple means, such as an email containing an infected attachment or a compromised USB drive. Ransomware can be detected by looking for patterns in the file names of encrypted files. File types that are encrypted have the same file size before encryption. Therefore, file size funneling can be a secondary indicator of ransomware infection. File names can be similar to legitimate files, making it easy to spot ransomware infections.
Ransomware hides in systems before executing. Therefore, security teams should monitor file access and network traffic for unusual patterns. Additionally, security teams should look for software that connects to shady file-sharing sites.
It can be recovered
Thankfully, there are ways to recover your data from ransomware attacks. The No More Ransom project and other online resources provide decryptors that allow you to restore your data. You can also try restoring your file systems from backups, but you must do so carefully. The backups must be as protected as your production systems to ensure reliable data recovery.
The first step to recovering your ransomware data is creating a backup. First, make sure you have a synchronized cloud copy of your files. If this method fails, download a third-party tool to decrypt your files. Some devices are easy to use and support over 1,000 different data types.
