The average price to free your computer from ransomware used to be $294. It’s more than tripled in the last year.
It’s getting more expensive to keep up with ransomware.
As victims struggle to deal with cyberattacks locking up their systems, payouts are on the rise for hackers who target entire computer networks. Ransomware hides onto computers before encrypting important files, demanding victims pay up if they ever want access again.
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Throughout 2016, ransomware has become an increasingly popular malware for hackers, hitting San Francisco’s public transportation system, Congress and hospitals. As hackers find creative ways to extort money by holding computers hostage, ransoms are becoming less affordable while the malware becomes tougher to crack. In the near future, the average person might not even be able to pay off ransomware, even if he or she wanted to.
The MIRCOP ransomware demanded $28,730 from victims, the highest price seen during 2016.
FREE DOWNLOAD: The Growing Threat of Ransomware and How to Stay Safe
Two cybersecurity reports pointed at the startling growth of ransomware attacks during 2016. Ransomware attacks have increased by 50 percent in 2016 from 2015, now the fifth most common type of malware. In 2014, it was only the 22nd most common, according to this 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report.
The report also found that ransomware made up more than 70 percent of malware attacks on the health care industry, which includes hospitals, pharmacies and insurance agencies.
In 2016, Symantec found 463,841 instances of ransomware attacks, which rose from 340,665 in 2015. They also discovered 100 new variations of ransomware, tripling since last year. Over the last year, the security company found an average of 1,271 ransomware attacks each day.
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Ransomware’s rise comes from both how easy it is to share the malware, as well as how profitable the attacks are. When cyber criminals can share the software with each other and send out ransomware to infect systems in mass amounts through email, it’s a quick formula for an easy buck.
In 2015, the average profit for a cyber thief through ransomware was $294. Symantec found in its Internet Security Threat Report that demands have more than tripled, jumping up 266 percent to an average $1,077 per victim. Depending on how important the files are, it might be cheaper to just buy a new computer.
They can afford to raise the price when the majority of victims are willing to just pay the price. In the US, 64 percent of ransomware victims opt to pay the ransom, with the software often times being too difficult to crack, even for the FBI.
Attacks have become more sophisticated, going after entire drive systems as opposed to specific files to hold hostage. Ransoms can now also increase for every day it’s not paid, and some ransomware function as pyramid schemes, offering freedom if victims can infect two or more people.
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YOUR TURN
Organizations like No More Ransom are fighting back against ransomware with free decryption tools. The group estimates that they’ve blocked cyber criminals from receiving more than $3 million in ransomware payouts since forming in July 2016.
Union Built PC is fighting back against ransomware by seeking to educate our clients, prospects, readers and followers. Backup is the Best Protection for your Data. We recently published a white paper to educate and guide you through the growing threat of Ransomware as well as information on Union Built Cloud services, a best-in-class secure data storage solution that automatically backs up your data keeping it out of the hands of cyber criminals. Use them and navigate the web with a lot more peace of mind.
Learn more about the Union Built Cloud, contact us with your cyber security questions and concerns and like Union Built PC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and subscribe to the Union Built PC monthly email newsletter for Union News delivered straight to your inbox.