Ransomware is the newest addition to the growing list of online threats users have to deal with. Once inside your device, the malicious code hides all your important files, documents and data while sending a message that if you’d want to regain your precious information you’d have to pay a certain fee.
Here are some useful things you should know about ransomware.
Understanding The Risks Of Ransomware
Cyber-criminals often employ high-pressure techniques to force their victims to pay large sums of money. Some of these include the threat of making the information public, selling it to the highest bidder or completely deleting all the data and rendering the victim’s computer useless.
Businesses that are hit with ransomware may face dire consequences, including system downtime leading to lost productivity, loss of proprietary data and having to replace devices that were compromised.
Backups, Storage Drives and Databases Are Fair Game
Before, large organizations successfully repelled ransomware attacks by putting their most sensitive files in a separate location. Ransomware criminals became wise to these safety procedures and found a way to access even remote storage solutions.
A classic example is the adobe ransomware, which finds all disks in a system structure, including all available drive letters. This means that if you have a USB drive connected when the script gets into the system, it gets detected and the information within it will be stolen as well.
To Pay or Not To Pay Ransom?
Unfortunately, paying the attackers isn’t the simplest or the best solution when your computer is infected with ransomware. It creates a profitable business model loop which will encourage the cyber criminals to continue. Moreover, they can continue threatening and asking for more, putting you in their mercy.
What you’ll need is a specialized decrypter tool that can find and remove the threat. The software can automatically remove the ransomware and free up your data in the soonest possible time.