In wake of last week ’ s ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , technology specialists warn that ‘ paying money Attack.Ransom to a criminal is never a good idea ’ Cybersecurity experts have warned businesses against meeting hackers ’ demands for money Attack.Ransom in the wake of the “unprecedented” attack Attack.Ransom on hundreds of thousands of computer systems around the world . Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to a computer or its data and demands money Attack.Ransom to release it . The worm used in Friday ’ s attack Attack.Ransom , dubbed WannaCry or WanaCrypt0r , encrypted more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries for ransoms Attack.Ransom of $ 300 to $ 600 to restore access . The full damage of the attack and its economic cost was still unclear , but Europol ’ s director , Rob Wainwright , said its global reach was precedented , and more victims were likely to become known in the coming days . The extent of the WannaCry attack Attack.Ransom prompted questions about what to do in the event of a ransomware infection , with many experts advising against paying the ransom Attack.Ransom , saying not only could it fail to release the data , it could expose victims to further risk . Peter Coroneos , the former chief executive of the Internet Industry Association and an expert on cyber policy , said whether or not to agree to ransomware demands Attack.Ransom presented practical and ethical dilemmas . “ These people are criminals , and paying money to a criminal is never a good idea . However , if it ’ s a trade-off between losing your lifetime ’ s family photos and making a payment Attack.Ransom to a criminal , then it ’ s up to the individual to make that judgment call . “ It would be very hard to walk away. ” But Gregory said it would be “ self-defeating ” for hackers not to release data upon receipt of a ransom Attack.Ransom , “ because that would immediately hit the media , and no one would pay ” . But not all ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom were motivated by financial gains , he added . “ If they ’ re a professional criminal organisation , their business model will be to release people ’ s computers once they ’ ve paid the money Attack.Ransom , but you don ’ t know . It could be someone having a laugh , or someone who ’ s trying to learn , or someone who ’ s released it accidentally . “ You just do not know – that ’ s the problem. ” With such attacks hitting computer systems at an “ ever-increasing rate ” , Gregory said prevention was the best course of action . With outdated operating systems “ easy targets ” , he urged individuals and businesses to automate updates and invest in software that protected against viruses , malware and ransomware across not only their computers , but tablets and mobile phones as well . “ It ’ s a combination of factors that will keep people safe ... For individuals , families have got to work together and companies have to take the time to ensure that their cybersecurity practices are up to date. ” Gregory recommended regular if not daily backups of personal data , which would allow victims to wipe the infected computer , reload their data , and start again .

What ’ s worse than ransomware that scrambles all your files and demands money Attack.Ransom for the key to unlock them and get them back ? Well , WannaCry certainly added a new dimension to the ransomware danger , because it combined the data-scrambling process with self-spreading computer virus code . As a result , WannaCry could worm its way through your network automatically , potentially leaving you with hundreds or even thousands of scrambled computers in a single attack , even if only one user opened a booby-trapped attachment or downloaded a file from a poisoned website . The crooks behind the SamSam ransomware have also latched onto a rather different approach : instead of trying to reach thousands or tens of thousands of victims around the world with a hard-hitting spam campaign , and squeezing each of them for hundreds or thousands of dollars each , the SamSammers seem to attack one organisation at a time . Indeed , the SamSammers generally keep their hand hidden until they have broken into the network and figured out , using similar techniques to penetration testers , a list of computers they know they can encrypt all at the same time . Then they let fly on all of those identified devices at once , giving them a much higher chance of scrambling at least some computers that are critical to the workflow of your company , Finally , they make a payment demand Attack.Ransom , typically charging a few thousand dollars for each individual computer you want to unlock , but also offering an all-you-can-eat deal of $ 50,000 to decrypt everything . The bad news is that this WannaCrypt “ demanding money Attack.Ransom with menaces ” threat email is very widespread – we ’ ve had people worried about it from all over , which is why we decided to write up this warning . The good news is that these particular crooks don ’ t actually have any malware to back up their threat . Indeed , their claim that “ antivirus software will not be able to detect [ the ] program ” is one of the few truths in this scam , for the simple and fortunate reason that , in this case , there is no program to detect . Just to be clear here : disk wiping malware – think of it as ransomware with no decryption key , so you can ’ t buy your files back from the crooks even if you want to – most certainly exists . So , these WannaCrypt scammers could , in theory , have been telling the truth , giving you just a few hours to hunt down and turn off their attack code before your data was destroyed . In this particular case , however , the whole thing is a fraud , right down to the existence of the malware in the first place .

A Vermont business 's computer system was attacked Attack.Ransom by hackers and held for ransom Attack.Ransom . It may sound like a movie plot but ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom like these are on the rise . According to their 2017 Internet Crime report , last year the FBI received 1,783 complaints identified as ransomware . The adjusted losses from the attacks was over $ 2.3 million . An example of a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom is software that downloads to your computer , encrypts your data and then demands money Attack.Ransom to get it back . It 's technological extortion , essentially . And that 's what happened to Wendell 's Furniture in Colchester at the end of last month . `` Our servers crashed and when our IT guy came to take care of the problem , I asked him how the patient was doing and he just got kind of an ashen look on his face and he just shook his head and I knew we were in trouble , '' said Ryan Farrell , the vice president of Wendell 's Furniture . Farrell says in their nearly 20 years of business , they 've never had this type of cybersecurity attack . `` I honestly do n't think I believed it to begin with . It 's something you see in the movies , something you see on TV but it 's never something that I thought would happen to us , especially here in Vermont , '' Farrell said . The company 's sales information from the last 5-10 years was stolen Attack.Databreach , including customers ' names , addresses , phone numbers and email addresses . However , no credit card numbers were part of the breach . `` My message to customers is not to panic , do n't be worried about your information , '' Farrell said . `` Just know that it 's going to take us just a little bit more time to get your sofa to you but we 're open for business . '' Wendell 's was able to recover most of the data but not all of it . They are still missing several months ' worth of data . `` Everything that used to be easy is now really hard , '' Farrell said . A McAfee report shows that ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom are up more than 100 percent in the second quarter of 2018 over that same time frame in 2016 . Duane Dunston teaches cybersecurity at Champlain College and says these attacks can be hard to count . `` It 's not really clear because many organizations may not report it , '' he said . `` It may be easier for them to give them the money and just move on . '' Wendell 's ended up paying thousands of dollars but Dunston says that can have repercussions . `` One of the dangers is that they can come back and ask for more money at a later time , '' he explained . `` There really is no way to know whether they are going to delete the data or whatever they are demanding . '' Dunston says there is lots of public information on how to protect your data but to make sure you are backing it up and updating your security systems . Wendell 's has now reinforced its computer firewalls and replaced parts of its infrastructure that are susceptible to attack . `` We 're getting back on our feet , '' Farrell said . Customers who financed their purchase with Synchrony Financial may have had their account numbers compromised , but according to Wendell 's that threat is low . The business has sent out about 500 letters notifying customers and says they are doing their best to get the word out .