And that approach probably works out just fine from a law enforcement organization ’ s perspective . However , from the viewpoint of a private citizen whose entire database has been held hostage by vicious hackers , not paying a ransom Attack.Ransom is hardly an option . According to the FBI ’ s own statistics , ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom are spreading like virus in the US alone , with a spike as alarming as $ 209 million in damages in the first three months of 2016 . When you look at it , the reasons behind the spread of ransomware are quite easy to understand . The malicious coding can be acquired by anyone with an internet connection for as little as a hundred dollars on the Deep Web , the psychological pressure over losing one ’ s important data almost always ends up in a successful heist and the current law enforcement system can and does very little to prevent the situation from going out of control . That , however , is not to say that the law enforcement isn ’ t concerned . In a news report released in April 2016 , the FBI expressed its direct concerns over the unchallenged growth of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom and urged any victims to not give in to the demand for ransom Attack.Ransom unless all other options are exhausted . Unfortunately , however , as is the case with most ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom , the stakes of losing years worth of important data is always quite high and the ransom demanded Attack.Ransom usually very small , leading most victims to give in to the attackers ’ demands Attack.Ransom before even reaching out to law enforcement . For starters , though , let ’ s try and have a look at what ransomware is , and what differentiates it from other types of malicious coding . The most common form of ransomware is one that infiltrates your network , gains access Attack.Databreach to your data and encrypts them using advanced algorithms to prevent you from accessing your own files . A demand Attack.Ransom for an aggressive amount of money , generally in Bitcoin , is then demanded Attack.Ransom by the perpetrator in exchange for the key that decrypts said data that has been hijacked . There are , of course , several other types of ransomware , such as the kind that block access to the entire operating system or the kind that attaches itself to a partition of the computer ’ s hard drive . Most ransomware come with some sort of encryption key that is used to unlock the stolen data files once ransom is paid Attack.Ransom , though there is absolutely no guarantee that the perpetrator will keep their end of the bargain once money is transferred . The majority of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom come with a set of identifying characteristics , such as the use of malicious coding that can spread throughout the network , the blocking of access to important data in the victim ’ s servers in a variety of creative ways , including the scrambling of file names and adding different extensions to prevent them from being accessed . Ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom also feature a time limit to add an element of psychological pressure against the victim , after which the data in concern is either stolen Attack.Databreach or deleted from the victim ’ s servers permanently . Attackers these days almost always ask for payment Attack.Ransom in Bitcoin , as the cryptocurrency is incredibly difficult to track as far as payments go . The concern over ransomware lies not in individual cases but the number of cases reported each year , which makes it the most popular cyber-infiltration scenario in current times . According to the Cyber Threat Alliance ( CTA ) , the damages caused by CryptoWall 3 , a particular type of ransomware , hit Attack.Ransom $ 325 million in 2015 alone . As per statistics produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation , in the first few months of 2016 , a single variant of ransomware infected as many as 100,000 computers each day . In the March of 2016 , the number of computers infected by ransomware technology hit the absolute upper ceiling for the year , reports Symantec . While the cases , when considered individually , may not amount to much , the number of incidents reported worldwide in any given year is clearly a matter of global concern .

The murky ecosystem of ransomware payments Attack.Ransom comes into focus in new research led by Damon McCoy , an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering . Ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom , which encrypt and hold a computer user 's files hostage in exchange for payment Attack.Ransom , extort Attack.Ransom millions of dollars from individuals each month , and comprise one of the fastest-growing forms of cyber attack . In a paper slated for presentation at the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in May , McCoy and a team including researchers from the University of California , San Diego ; Princeton University ; Google ; and the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis provide the first detailed account of the ransomware payment ecosystem , from initial attack to cash-out . Key findings include the discovery that South Koreans are disproportionately impacted Attack.Ransom by ransomware campaigns , with analysis revealing that $ 2.5 million of the $ 16 million in ransomware payments Attack.Ransom tracked by the researchers was paid Attack.Ransom in South Korea . The paper 's authors call for additional research to determine the reason that so many South Koreans are victimized and how they can be protected . The team also found that most ransomware operators used a Russian bitcoin exchange , BTC-E , to convert bitcoin to fiat currencies . ( BTC-E has since been seized by the FBI . ) The researchers estimate that at least 20,000 individuals made ransomware payments Attack.Ransom over the past two years , at a confirmed cost of $ 16 million , although the actual payment total is likely far higher . McCoy and his collaborators took advantage of the public nature of the bitcoin blockchain technology to trace ransom payments Attack.Ransom over a two-year period¬ . Bitcoins are the most common currency of ransomware payments Attack.Ransom , and because most victims do not own them , the initial bitcoin purchase provides a starting point for tracking payments . Each ransomware victim is often given a unique payment address that directs to a bitcoin wallet where the ransom Attack.Ransom is collected . The research team tapped public reports of ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom to identify these addresses and correlate them with blockchain transactions . To boost the number of transactions available for analysis , the team also executed real ransomware binaries in a controlled experimental environment , essentially becoming victims themselves and making micropayments to real ransom wallets in order to follow the bitcoin trail . `` Ransomware operators ultimately direct bitcoin to a central account that they cash out periodically , and by injecting a little bit of our own money into the larger flow we could identify those central accounts , see the other payments flowing in , and begin to understand the number of victims and the amount of money being collected , '' McCoy said . The research team acknowledged that ethical issues prevent exploration of certain aspects of the ransomware ecosystem , including determining the percentage of victims who actually pay Attack.Ransom to recover their files . McCoy explained that despite having the ability to check for activity connected to a specific payment address , doing so would effectively `` start the clock '' and potentially cause victims to either pay a double ransom Attack.Ransom or lose the opportunity to recover their files altogether . Criminal use of cryptocurrencies is one of McCoy 's research focuses . He and fellow researchers previously tracked human traffickers through their use of Bitcoin advertising .

Although Robert Herjavec , an investor on ABC 's `` Shark Tank , '' expects the price of bitcoin to `` skyrocket , '' he has no plans to personally buy any . That 's because as the CEO of cybersecurity firm Herjavec Group , he does n't want to support the growing trend of hackers using cryptocurrency . `` I ca n't invest in something that my enemy uses as funds , '' he explained on CNBC 's `` Squawk Alley . '' Indeed , `` If there was no cryptocurrency , much of the large hacks that we 're seeing today would n't exist , '' Herjavec told Money . As one example , Herjavec is concerned with the role cryptocurrency plays in ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom . `` Cryptocurrency permits anonymity , '' he explains to CNBC Make It . `` It 's a very popular form of payment for ransomware in particular . '' Ransomware is a type of software that locks or encrypts a computer user 's data and files , in affect holding it hostage . To release the information , a hacker will demand a ransom payment Attack.Ransom . Ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom increased 6,000 percent in 2016 from 2015 , according to a study from IBM Security . And in 2017 , 200,000 computers in 150 countries belonging to businesses , governments and even the U.K. National Health Service were impacted Attack.Ransom by the ransomware virus known as WannaCry . In that case , victims were told to make a payment Attack.Ransom in bitcoin to get their computers back . Hackers often demand the ransom Attack.Ransom be paid in cryptocurrency because it allows them to remain anonymous , Herjavec says . `` I can take over your computer or personal information , hold it for ransom Attack.Ransom , give you instructions on how to create a virtual wallet , force Attack.Ransom you to pay Attack.Ransom me , and you have no way of finding out who I am , '' Herjavec explains . That 's because a bitcoin wallet is only identified by a number , and `` payments are direct without a bank or credit card company acting as the middle man , '' Herjavec says . `` There is no money trail , so it 's very difficult to track back to an individual . '' With WannaCry , the hackers asked for Attack.Ransom $ 300 worth of bitcoin from victims , and if they waited over 72 hours to pay Attack.Ransom , the fine increased to $ 600 . If they waited a week , their information would be locked for good . The Trump administration pointed to North Korea as the originator of the attack . In 2016 , ransomware was used to coerce Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center , a hospital in Los Angeles , to pay Attack.Ransom 40 bitcoin to hackers , The New York Times reports . That sum was then worth $ 17,000 . Bitcoin closed at $ 10,779.90 on Tuesday , March 6 , according to CoinMarketCap , which makes those 40 coins worth about $ 431,196 . To protect yourself from ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom , take steps to secure your online information . `` Keep your computer and data safe by backing up often , using cloud services with dual factor authentication and complex passwords , '' Herjavec suggests . `` Have anti-virus [ software ] installed and kept up to date . ''

Nearly half of businesses report that they were the subject of a cyber-ransom campaign Attack.Ransom in 2016 , according to Radware 's Global Application and Network Security Report 2016-2017 . Data loss topped the list of IT professionals ' cyber attack concerns , the report found , with 27 % of tech leaders reporting this as their greatest worry . It was followed by service outage ( 19 % ) , reputation loss ( 16 % ) , and customer or partner loss ( 9 % ) . Malware or bot attacks hit half of all organizations surveyed in the last year . Some 55 % of respondents reported that IoT ecosystems had complicated their cybersecurity detection measures , as they create more vulnerabilities . Ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom in particular continue to increase rapidly : 41 % of respondents reported that ransom Attack.Ransom was the top motivator behind the cyber attacks they experienced in 2016 . Meanwhile , 27 % of respondents cited insider threats , 26 % said political hacktivism , and 26 % said competition . SEE : HR managers beware : Ransomware could be your next job applicant While large-scale DDoS attacks dominated the headlines of 2016 , this report found that only 4 % of all attacks were more than 50 Gbps , while more than 83 % of DDoS attacks reported were under 1 Gbps . `` One thing is clear : Money is the top motivator in the threat landscape today , '' said Carl Herberger , vice president of security solutions at Radware , in a press release . `` Attackers employ an ever-increasing number of tactics to steal Attack.Databreach valuable information , from ransom attacks Attack.Ransom that can lock up a company 's data , to DDoS attacks that act as a smoke screen for information theft Attack.Databreach , to direct brute force or injection attacks that grant direct access Attack.Databreach to internal data . '' Despite the growth in attacks , some 40 % of organizations reported that they do not have an incident response plan in place , the survey found .

University College London , one of the world 's leading universities , has been hit by a major cyber-attack . The university describes it as a "ransomware" attack Attack.Ransom , such as last month 's cyber-attack which threatened NHS computer systems . The attack was continuing on Thursday , with access to online networks being restricted . The university has warned staff and students of the risk of data loss and `` very substantial disruption '' . University College London ( UCL ) is a `` centre of excellence in cyber-security research '' , a status awarded by the GCHQ intelligence and monitoring service . The central London university , ranked last week in the world 's top 10 , says that a `` widespread ransomware attack Attack.Ransom `` began on Wednesday . It was first blamed on so-called `` phishing '' emails , with links to destructive software . But later the university suggested it was more likely to be from contact with a `` compromised '' website , where clicking on a pop-up page might have spread a malware infection . Ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom are where computer systems are locked and threatened with damaging software unless payments Attack.Ransom are made . Students and staff were warned that `` ransomware damages files on your computer and on shared drives where you save files '' and were told not to open any suspicious attachments . The university says that it believes the risk of further infection has been contained , but it is urging staff and students to help with efforts to reduce any `` further spread of this malware '' . Universities , which often carry out commercially sensitive research , have become frequent targets for cyber-attacks . `` However , what makes this attack interesting is the timing , '' said Graham Rymer , an ethical hacker and research associate at the University of Cambridge . `` Hackers tend to target people who will be desperate to get access Attack.Databreach to their data and are , therefore , more likely to pay the ransom Attack.Ransom . `` Currently there are a lot of students who will be putting the final touches to their dissertations , so it could be that they were the targets . '' Mr Rymer said UCL seemed to have responded well to the attack and had `` locked it down pretty well '' . `` One thing UCL did is to quickly switch all drives in the system to `` read-only '' following the attack , which essentially prevented the malware from doing real damage . '' Mr Rymer said UCL may not have been the only intended target as he had seen other businesses facing the same malware . Last month , the National Health Service in England and Scotland was subject to a significant ransomware cyber-attack Attack.Ransom , as part of a global wave of attacks .

Imagine turning on your smartphone to send a text and finding this threatening notice instead : “ You need to pay Attack.Ransom for us , otherwise we will sell portion of your personal information on black market every 30 minutes . WE GIVE 100 % GUARANTEE THAT ALL FILES WILL RESTORE AFTER WE RECEIVE PAYMENT . WE WILL UNLOCK THE MOBILE DEVICE AND DELETE ALL YOUR DATA FROM OUR SERVER ! TURNING OFF YOUR PHONE IS MEANINGLESS , ALL YOUR DATA IS ALREADY STORED ON OUR SERVERS ! WE STILL CAN SELLING IT FOR SPAM , FAKE , BANK CRIME etc . We collect and download Attack.Databreach all of your personal data . All information about your social networks , Bank accounts , Credit Cards . We collect Attack.Databreach all data about your friends and family . '' This is the message , word for word , found recently by Oren Koriat and Andrey Polkovnichenko , a pair of mobile cybersecurity analysts at Check Point , a security firm in California . The smartphone on which it appeared was an Android model that had been compromised by smartphone ransomware . Ransomware has become a ubiquitous threat to personal-computer users . Criminals remotely access a victim 's computer and lock all the files using encryption software , offering to unlock the data in exchange for a payment Attack.Ransom . The first ransomware attack Attack.Ransom on a phone occurred in 2013 , according to the Check Point researchers , but until now has been confined to small numbers of victims , primarily in Eastern Europe . Now , the company says , the threat has gained a toehold in the United States . Koriat and Polkovnichenko found the software , which they dubbed Charger , embedded in an app called Energy Rescue , which purports to make a phone battery last longer . `` The infected app steals Attack.Databreach contacts and SMS messages from the user ’ s device and asks for admin permissions , '' the company said in a statement . `` If granted , the ransomware locks the device and displays Attack.Ransom a message demanding payment Attack.Ransom . '' The payment demanded Attack.Ransom was 0.2 bitcoin , or about $ 180 at the current exchange rate . ( The phone was being used for business and did n't contain much personal data ; the owner chose to replace the phone rather than pay . ) The most disturbing part of the attack might be that the app was downloaded from the Google Play store . Android phones can use apps from other sources , but security experts usually recommend that users stick to the Play store to take advantage of the processes Google uses to check the software for safety . `` The main issue here is the fact that such a severe threat managed to penetrate Google 's security and enter Google Play , Google 's official app store , '' says Daniel Padon , another member of Check Point 's research team . `` Most malware that manages to enter Google Play has only slim malicious traits , while Charger is about as malicious as can be . As mobile ransomware try to keep the pace with their cousins in the PC world , we are likely to see more efforts of this sort , endangering users around the world . '' Padon added that this malware was particularly sophisticated , using a number of innovative tactics to evade detection by Google . Google commended the security firm for catching the Charger threat so early . `` We appreciate Check Point ’ s efforts to raise awareness about this issue , '' a Google spokesperson says . `` We ’ ve taken the appropriate actions in Play and will continue to work closely with the research community to help keep Android users safe . '' Ransomware attacks on mobile phones are still relatively rare . One well-known case involved users of pornography apps in Eastern Europe who were targeted by ransomware called DataLust , Check Point says . In those cases , the ransom Attack.Ransom was set at 1,000 rubles , or about $ 15 . There 's evidence that Charger , too , comes from Eastern Europe—beyond the clichéd bad grammar of the ransom note . `` This is likely done to keep the developers from being prosecuted in their own countries or being extradited between countries . '' Ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom are joining a growing list of threats to mobile phone securit