Ransomware, like the name entails, is a type of malware that holds a computer system hostage until the perpetrators are given a sum of money to release a key. Or at least it used to be. Over the years, ransomware has grown in sophistication to the money-making monster that it is today.

Although discussions surrounding ransomware have only begun heating up within the past few years, the act of encrypting a computer system for money is not particularly new. The problem that threat-actors faced in the past surrounded payment collection. With the rise of cryptocurrency, their jobs became much more lucrative and developed into what we can see today.

While the pandemic was at its peak, most industries turned to technology to survive. This mass shift from physical to online work only benefited cybercriminals as they had more leverage against their victims.

The increase in frequency that has been observed can be attributed to the willingness of the victims to pay the stipulated ransom. But paying criminals is never the way because even with the assurances, victims may never fully recover their data. Taking full advantage of the current circumstances, there has been a noticeable shift in the mode of attack that these threat actors are operating under. Instead of the traditional spray and pray attacks, there has been a noticeable increase in attacks on large companies that spread to their clients and other victims.

Ransomware threat actors are unpredictable. They’ve been known to attack both individuals and businesses, so you never know who might be next. Why take the risk of being unprepared? Malwarebytes offers an Endpoint Protection and Security solution designed to fight and defeat ransomware so you can sleep a little better knowing that your data is safe from advanced attacks that other solutions may miss.

This collection of articles will take you through the current ransomware environment, giving you updates on their economic impact alongside the vulnerabilities they target and precisely what you need to combat them with Malwarebytes.

Happy reading!