Ransomware is expected to grow according to the FBI (Devlin, 2016). According to

Question

Ransomware is expected to grow according to the FBI (Devlin, 2016). According to this same article, there were 2,453 reported incidents of ransomware in 2015. In one case it cost a hospital in California $17,000 in ransom to restore the data locked by hackers. This type of malware encrypts critical computer information and locks it until ransom is paid. This technique of encryption is called “Cryptolocker.” Find at least five cases of ransomware. Describe ways an organization can protect itself from ransomware? What laws might apply?

Explanation / Answer

Protecting against ransomware can be difficult since attackers actively alter their programs to defeat anti-virus detection. However, antivirus is still one of the best methods to protect yourself against known ransomware in the wild. It might not be possible to completely eliminate your risk of becoming a victim of ransomware, but you can lessen the pain of being a victim by doing regular backups of your data and storing it on a device that isn’t online.

CryptoWall is an improved version of CryptoDefense minus its fatal flaw. Now, instead of using the victim’s machine to generate the key, the attackers generate it on their server. In one version of CryptoWall they use strong AES symmetric cryptography to encrypt the victim’s files and an RSA-2048 key to encrypt the AES key. Recent versions of CryptoWall host their command server on the Tor network to better hide them and also communicate with the malware on victim machines through several proxies.

CryptoWall can not only encrypt files on the victim’s computer but also any external or shared drives that connect to the computer. And the shakedown demand can range anywhere from $200 to $5,000. CryptoWall’s authors have also established an affiliate program, which gives criminals a cut of the profit if they help spread the word about the ransomware to other criminal buyers.

CTB-Locker’s name stands for curve-Tor-Bitcoin because it uses an elliptic curve encryption scheme, the Tor network for hosting its command server, and Bitcoin for ransom payments. It also has an affiliate sales program.

TorrentLocker harvests email addresses from a victim’s mail client to spam itself to other victims. Fox-IT calculated at one point that TorrentLocker had amassed some 2.6 million email addresses in this manner.

Petya - attack the PC too: Ptya targets the system itself. When people boot their PC then they see a skull on screen while booting.

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