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What is ransomware?

Ransomware is like a digital kidnapper, holding your computer hostage until you pay up! It's software that encrypts all your data and demands a ransom from you to decrypt it.

What is ransomware?

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Why should we care about ransomware?

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Curious how cyber criminals spread ransomware?

Cyber criminals often use a combination of social engineering (i.e. manipulation) and exploitation of computer system vulnerabilities to deliver ransomware.
Cyber criminals may spread ransomware through email attachments. They may send emails that contain malicious attachments, which, when downloaded and opened, will install the ransomware on the victim's computer. This delivery method relies on social engineering.
Cyber criminals may spread ransomware by directing victims to malicious websites. When the victim visits the website, the ransomware may be automatically downloaded and installed on their computer. This delivery method relies on social engineering.
Cyber criminals may use exploit kits to spread ransomware. Exploit kits are sets of tools that are used to exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems and install malware, including ransomware. Exploit kits are often designed for mass exploitation and it allows criminals to scale their operations significantly.

Is the following statement True or False:
You should only download attachments in an email if the email is expected and from a trusted sender.

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What does ransomware do once it infects a computer?

It begins encrypting data on the infected computer. Once encrypted, ransomware will display a message demanding payment in the form of virtual currency (e.g. Bitcoin) in exchange for the decryption key.

What does ransomware do to data on your computer?

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Preventing ransomware

Ensuring you're protected against ransomware requires you to implement a variety of cyber security best practices. As a starting point, it's best to follow the three practices listed below.
One of the most effective ways to protect against ransomware is to ensure that all systems and software are kept up-to-date. This includes installing updates and patches as they become available, as these can fix vulnerabilities that can be exploited by ransomware.
Regularly backing up data is another important way to protect against ransomware. By regularly creating copies of important data, you can ensure that you have a copy available in case your data is encrypted by ransomware.
Cyber criminals often spread ransomware through email attachments and malicious websites. It is important to be cautious of suspicious emails and websites and to avoid opening attachments or clicking links from unknown sources. Instead, verify the authenticity of emails and websites before interacting with them.

Is the following statement True or False:
To prevent ransomware, we should store data in the cloud and make it publicly readable and writable.

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To prevent ransomware, we should

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Ransomware recovery

Before restoring systems from a backup device, it's good practice to ensure that the cyber criminal no longer has access to your network. This is to ensure that they can't just re-encrypt restored data!

Why should we ensure cyber criminals no longer have access to our network before restoring data?

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Why is ransomware growing?

Since the introduction of digital currencies such as Bitcoin, ransomware has exponentially grown in popularity. This is because cyber criminals now have a mechanism to anonymously accept funds from their illicit activities.

Wrapping up

If you open an email, visit a website, come across a file that seems suspicious or believe that your computer is infected with malware, don't hesitate to contact your IT or Security team for assistance.