Ransomware Protection: Extortion of Ransom with Encryption Trojans | Antivirus

Ransomware protection becomes necessary if you encounter such messages on your computer:

All your files are encrypted "

The ransomware protection belongs on the agenda of any cybersecurity strategy - whether users or business. Whether  Locky,  Wannacry, or Cerber  ... If the computer no longer works and this message appears on the screen after restarting, a user could be the victim of a relatively new, particularly nasty form of malware. Ransomware spreads quickly, threatening the personal safety and above all the data protection of larger organizations and companies. Windows computers are usually affected and less often, but increasingly also Apple computers or mobile devices. 

The term is made up of " ransom " ( English: ransom ) and software. The method: Cybercriminals break into computers and networks, encrypt individual or complete data on the hard drives or even entire networks ( e.g. Petya) and demand a ransom for the release via a screen message. End users are usually supposed to put a few hundred euros on the table, companies usually don't get off so cheaply.

The ransom is to be transferred abroad and is often settled via cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or payment systems such as Paysafecard. The reason: The traces of the money transactions can hardly be traced here. After payment, the victim is promised a decryption code. If you do not pay, your own data should remain encrypted, so the threat of the cyber gangster.

Ransomware Protection - These Are the Most Common Entry Points for Ransomware:

·         E-Mail Attachments: The ransom Trojans come, for example, disguised as spam mail, invoices, or application attachments - even the NRW Ministry of the Interior and several administrations and hospitals have already been affected. Example: Locky, PadCrypt, and TeslaCrypt.

 

·         Remote Maintenance Software: Surprise example

 

·         Links: In emails, on Facebook, websites, or in SMS and instant messaging programs

 

·         Telephone Calls: Companies can e.g. For example, alleged IT support staff can also be called who claim to want to install security updates.

 

Private users, for example, are presented with supposedly interesting information such as “Awesome video, you've never seen anything like this before. Click here… ”or something like that lured into the trap. The ransom Trojan PadCrypt offered victims direct contact via a built-in live support chat window and an uninstallation routine for their own malware.

Ransomware Is the New Scam of Cybercrime

A sharp increase in ransom Trojans has been observed worldwide, and protection against ransomware is essential. In a report at the beginning of 2016, the BSI found that in February 2016, compared to October 2015, antivirus alarms were triggered by ransomware in Germany more than ten times as often. The number of ransomware detections worldwide increased sixfold. In 2015, the security company Symantec found that 17 percent of all Germans had suffered financial damage from cybercrime and one in five users from ransomware.

The Bad Thing: Trojans for ransom are relatively easy to program; in contrast to DDoS attacks, cybercriminals do not even need large capacities for this. Many ransomware malware is even offered for little money in forums such as the Tor network and it is paid twice.