Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Ransomware attacks become more prevalent as Baltimore gets hit

Juliana Covino
Editor-in-Chief

Ransomware attacks on companies and individuals has become more prevalent over the past few years. Just recently, an attack cost the city of Baltimore $18.2 million dollars in restoration.
     Ransomware is a type of malicious software that gains access to a company’s personal files or systems and blocks every user from accessing those files. Attackers then hold the files hostage using encryption until the victim pays a ransom that is usually requested in bitcoin in exchange for a decryption key. The key, in turn, allows the user to regain access to the files or systems that were held by the software.
    Even though ransomware has been around for decades, it has become more dangerous than ever due to the simple nature of systems easily being corrupted and thus ransomed. Vectors, messages that carriers of harmful ransomware, have become unrecognizable and masked as urgent emails, friendly texts, and pop-ups. Additionally, ransomware has continued to be one of the biggest threats since 2005 due to its attacks on hospitals, large corporations, and even cities.
    The city of Baltimore was recently hit on May 7 was demanded to pay a ransom in bitcoins worth about $76,000 on the day of the attack. Baltimore’s Mayor,  Bernard C. “Jack” Young, refused to pay the large sum even though the estimated cost of recovery is actually higher than the ransom. Government employees were unable to access their baltimorecity.gov emails for many days.
     In addition, multiple individuals attempted to create a new Gmail account as a workaround. However, Google’s security system flagged some of the accounts as suspicious and briefly suspended them as a result.
    The future of ransomware attacks is uncharted and unknown. It becomes increasingly clear that personal and private data is at risk in this technological climate. Teens and adults alike must become aware of the issue and privacy at stake.
     Even though companies only seem to be targeted, personal data can be seized along with a demand for payment. Furthermore, paying a ransom doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be granted access to your files. In conclusion, in order to be protected make sure to maintain in regular backups on external drives or with an external backup service and keep software updated with the latest security patches as well as staying informed.