Ransomware is a major cybersecurity risks that affects everyone observed by Bahaa Al Zubaidi. It is important to know more about it and understand how to defend against such attacks. This guide tells you all you want to know about ransomware attacks.

What is a ransomware attack?

A ransomware attack is where a hacker or cybercriminal gains access to your system. They do it by sending a phishing email or making you click a link or exploiting a vulnerability in software. Once they gain access, they prevent you from using the system. Work would come to a standstill when you lose access to your system. The criminals would then demand a ransom to give you back access.

Evolution of ransomware attacks

The 1990s was when ransomware attacks started. Early attacks were crude and most tried to trick users into installing spyware through social engineering. By the 2000’s attackers used sophisticated ways to attack and began to exploit software vulnerabilities. One of the most famous attacks was the WannaCry incident in 2017.

More than 200,000 computers spread across 150 countries were affected. The attacker used a vulnerability in older Windows version. The Ryuk attack in 2019 targeted large organizations and created panic. It is estimated that there were 236 million ransomware attacks only in the first half of 2022. This data shows the dangers of ransomware attacks.

Defending against ransomware attacks

Ransomware poses serious risks and apart from financial losses can lead to loss of reputation. It is important to defend yourself against ransomware and here are some ways you can defend yourself:

  1. It is vital to keep software updated. Latest updates and patches must be installed on time since they prevent known attacks.
  2. Security software must be installed to prevent ransomware attacks. It is important to invest money on a reliable software with a good track record.
  3. A stringent policy needs to be implemented to prevent users from installing unknown software or applications not approved.
  4. Awareness training is the key to defend against ransomware attacks. In most cases, the attack is successful because users do something foolish unknowingly. Comprehensive training with regular updates and refresher training is essential.
  5. A backup and disaster recovery plan is needed to address ransomware attacks. Such a plan will minimize the impact of any attack.
  6. Micro segmentation or dividing the network into small segments helps contain any attack to a microsegment preventing company wide losses.

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