Back in the 80’s, ransomware wasn’t as popular due to its lack of consistency related to success. However, ever since the 2000’s, ransomware has become one of the most popular methods for criminals to get their payment easier. Ransomware is now really easy to distribute as many methods such as mass sending emails or texts are becoming more and more common. Companies are a big target for many phishing attempts as they generally rely on the network to perform day to day activities or maintenance. Any significant delay in a business’s ability to be successful can be an obstacle. This is why many ransomware attacks are effective because they manipulate the business into regaining access to their computers.
There are four common types of ransomware that can be sent and disguised through emails, texts, social media dms etc. All of them have the same goal. To force the victim to pay a ransom. The two first methods are quite traditional and are what a person might think when they hear “computer ransom”. The two methods are referred to as encryptors and lockers. Encryptors are well known as they encrypt files or data making them inaccessible. In order for the victim to decrypt the data, a ransom of money must be paid. Lockers are similar, however instead of encrypting certain files or sets of data, the whole system is shut down. This means that whatever is stored on the system that has been affected is inaccessible until the ransom is paid. Both these types of ransomware use an effective method for exploiting victims into paying the ransoms as locked data or files can be quite important to some people or businesses. Another common method of ransomware can be referred to as scareware. The method revolves around “scaring” the victim into clicking infected links or downloading malicious malware. Traditionally it could be a pop-up ad or window indicating an urgent problem. The pop-ups could say that the computer has been infected with a dangerous virus that could cause malfunction or the device to crash. The goal is to make the victim think that whatever problem they’re proposing is real and needs attention immediately. This usually sparks the victim to click on proposed “solution” links which are just used to actually infect the device. The last common method of ransomware is leakware. Similar to scareware, leakware is a threat to leak sensitive information or company information. The goal is to make the victim panic into paying the ransom because they want their information to go into the wrong hands. Companies with the personal information of lots of people may feel more controversy when faced with leakware. The protection of their customers’ information or the business as a whole.
Malware is everywhere today, Disguised in emails, links and websites. It’s important to always think twice when encountering suspicious activity, emails or texts on your devices. Make sure links are 100% valid before committing to them as you do not want to take the risk of infecting your devices. Ransomware isn’t the only malware hidden in day to day life. Viruses may also be hidden and can spread computer to computer efficiently and effectively.