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 .

By now , you may have heard that a hacking organization identifying itself as the Turkish Crime Family has gone hunting for a very big fish : It said that it has credentials for hundreds of millions of Apple accounts of various sorts ( including email and iCloud ) , and it ’ s threatening to wipe all of the iPhones in the cache unless a hefty ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . The group is asking for Attack.Ransom either $ 75,000 in Bitcoin or $ 100,000 in iTunes gift cards before the April 7 deadline . Turkish Crime Family ( let ’ s call them TCF ) was first reported by Vice ’ s Motherboard as having 559 million total accounts—and other reports say there are either 200 million or 300 million vulnerable iPhone accounts . Regardless of the number , it ’ s a lot—and on the surface the news , if TCF really does have those credentials , would indicate that Apple has suffered a major data breach Attack.Databreach . Apple said in a media statement : “ There have not been any breaches Attack.Databreach in any of Apple ’ s systems including iCloud and Apple ID . The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtained Attack.Databreach from previously compromised Attack.Databreach third-party services . We 're actively monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts and are working with law enforcement to identify the criminals involved . To protect against these type of attacks , we always recommend that users always use strong passwords , not use those same passwords across sites and turn on two-factor authentication . '' Which means that the danger , if it does exist , isn ’ t new for these Apple users . And indeed , many of the accounts could be defunct : Some of the addresses are @ mac.com and @ me.com addresses , which could be almost two decades old . Motherboard confirmed a back-and-forth conversation between the hackers and Apple security teams , but TCF has yet to publicly provide solid proof of how and what information they have , besides a YouTube video ( now removed ) that Motherboard said shows someone logging into an iCloud account . Meanwhile , ZDNet said that it was able to get a data sample of 54 allegedly breached accounts from TCF—finding that they were all legitimate email addresses . The outlet also reached 10 users that said the listed pilfered passwords were correct . John Bambenek , threat systems manager of Fidelis Cybersecurity , said that he ’ s skeptical about the hacker group ’ s claims , noting that there are always people who make unfounded threats to organizations in the hope of an easy payday—or notoriety . “ The hacker group is not following what ’ s become typical operating procedure , ” he said via email . “ For example , if this were a real ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , they would be communicating privately with the company they are targeting . Based on previous incidents , the current threat has all the hallmarks of a stunt . If they really have the ability to wipe iPhones then they would have wiped a few already as ‘ proof of life ’ ” . But that said , do consumers really want to roll the dice with their pictures and other information on the phone ? Lamar Bailey , director of security research and development for Tripwire , said via email that the hackers may have indeed been able to meticulously assemble a cohesive database of previously stolen Attack.Databreach Apple credentials by making use of various former data breaches Attack.Databreach of sources outside of Apple—this is a good highlight once again of the widespread problem of password re-use . It would have required a large effort , but he noted that it could be done . “ If this is legit , the hackers would have had to obtain access Attack.Databreach to the individual user accounts via breaking the passwords of each of the user accounts or have acquired access to the Apple iCloud servers , ” he said . “ The access to each user account is much more realistic since we have seen numerous reports of all the weak passwords people use for their computers and accounts ” . And , he added , if the hackers have password access to individual user accounts , they can indeed erase phones remotely and change passwords for the Apple account . “ The hackers can not remove backups for Apple devices from the cloud , but changing the passwords will make it hard for the legitimate users to reset and recover their devices , ” he noted . “ Once the end-user has access to their account , they will be able to restore their device ” . Apple users—and indeed all users of any online-facing service—should make sure they ’ re using strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication as an added protection . “ Having a local backup of your device is always a good idea too . It is faster to restore a device locally than over the internet , and having a small NAS ( Network Attached Storage ) device at home for pictures and backups is a good investment to supplement the cloud backups , ” Bailey added

Are you such a video game fanatic that you simply can ’ t wait to get your paws on sneak previews of upcoming hit titles ? If so , your fervour may be fuelling the criminal activities of an unnamed group of who have targeted a developer of highly popular video games . Best known for developing The Witcher series of role-playing video games , CD Projekt Red took to Twitter to announce that it had been approached by extortionists who claimed to have stolen Attack.Databreach files from the company , including “ documents connected to early designs for the upcoming game , Cyberpunk 2077. ” CD Projekt Red says it will not pay the ransom being demanded Attack.Ransom by the thieves , who are threatening to release the stolen files to the general public : “ We will not be giving in to the demands Attack.Ransom of the individual or individuals that have contacted us , which might eventually lead to the files being published online . The appropriate legal authorities will be informed about the situation. ” “ The documents are old and largely unrepresentative of the current vision for the game . Still , if you ’ re looking forward to playing Cyberpunk 2077 , it would be best for you to avoid any information not coming directly from CD PROJEKT RED. ” I applaud CD Projekt Red ’ s refusal to pay a ransom Attack.Ransom . Paying Attack.Ransom extortionists always runs the risk of encouraging blackmailers to strike again , putting not just your own company but others at further risk . No release date has yet been announced by the Polish game studio for Cyberpunk 2077 , which has been in development for years and is keenly anticipated by the game maker ’ s fans . For CD Projekt RED , the danger is not just whether assets belonging to the game leaking Attack.Databreach into the public domain mess up its marketing strategy . There is also the risk that the gaming community will be unimpressed with any sneak previews of early versions of the game stolen Attack.Databreach by the hackers , and puncture the hype machine . Recent months have seen a rise in attacks Attack.Ransom where hackers have threatened to release a company ’ s intellectual property onto the net unless a ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . A month ago , for instance , The Dark Overlord hacking group attempted to blackmail money Attack.Ransom out of Netflix , before deciding to leak as-yet unaired episodes of hit TV show “ Orange is the New Black. ” The same hacking group has previously published Attack.Databreach 180,000 medical records – including insurance and social security numbers , dates of birth , and payment information – after healthcare firms refused to give in to their demands Attack.Ransom . Most recently , a chain of cosmetic surgeries in Lithuania warned that hackers were threatening to release the personal details of clients , including photographs . Readers with longer memories may recall that in September 2003 , a German hacker leaked Attack.Databreach the source code of the game Half-Life 2 onto the internet , much to the delight of internet users who had become fed up with waiting for the long-awaited video game . It doesn ’ t matter that it ’ s not credit card data or passwords that are being stolen Attack.Databreach – theft is theft Attack.Databreach . Just because it ’ s a video game ’ s plans and designs that are being held for ransom Attack.Ransom by the hackers doesn ’ t make any difference . The threat is real – and could have a commercial impact on the game ’ s producer . CD Projekt Red should be applauded for being so transparent about what has happened , as it ’ s easy to imagine many firms would rather sweep bad news like this under the carpet . What we need now is for game fanatics to exercise some patience and self-control , and resist the urge to hunt out a game before the manufacturer is ready to release it officially themselves .