Bristol Airport authorities were recently forced to take their flight information system displays offline for two days to contain a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom . The authorities dismissed the ransom demand Attack.Ransom and decided to rebuild the affected systems . For two days , flight status information was displayed on whiteboards and there was an increase in announcements over the speakers . Similarly , in the last few months there have been several cyberattacks targeting hospitals , city administration and sporting events . The servers of the US-based PGA were reportedly hit by ransomware Attack.Ransom attacks right before the PGA Championship in the first week of August . A new ransomware called Everlasting Blue Blackmail Virus , which targets Windows PCs using spam and phishing campaigns Attack.Phishing , flashes former US President Barrack Obama ’ s image with the ransom message . Once the ransomware gains entry into the system , its looks for all .exe ( executable ) files and encrypts them , preventing users from running apps until the ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . Hot on the heels of the cyberattack Attack.Ransom on the town of Valdez in Alaska , Canadian town Midland in Ontario was hit by a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom in the first week of September . Hackers broke into the city database involving fire , water , and waste management and blocked access , demanding ransom Attack.Ransom . A major concern for cybersecurity experts is the fileless attacks , which are hard to detect . These attacks do not install a malicious software to infiltrate a victim ’ s computer , which makes it difficult for anti-virus solutions to detect them . According to Ponemon Institute , 35 % of all cyberattacks in 2018 were fileless , while security solution provider Carbon Black claims that fileless attacks accounted for 50 % of all successful data breaches Attack.Databreach targeting financial businesses . Fileless attacks target legitimate Windows tools such as PowerShell ( a scripting language which can provide hackers unrestricted access to Windows API ) and Windows Management Instrumentation ( used by admins ) . By latching on to these tools , hackers gain control over the PC and eventually the organization ’ s database . In another recent development , researchers at F-Secure have come across a new vulnerability affecting PCs . Dubbed as cold boot , the attack can be carried off using a special programme through a USB drive connected to a PC . Using the programme , the hacker can disable the memory overwriting by rebooting the system , without a proper shutdown . The attack can be used to break into company system which might have access to the company network .

Now , more than ever , a recent report suggests that India ranks second in ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom , this does not come as a surprise to many , especially the industry experts , considering that the country ’ s current state of digital security isn ’ t geared up to handle the emerging threats . It ’ s very likely that India tops the list soon , considering the rapid growth of ransomware . To compound it , the growth in “ Internet of Things ” ( IoT ) industry and the vulnerability towards cyber infections will further fuel new types of malware threats . We had reported earlier in our findings that over 180 Indian companies were victims of Ransomware online extortion schemes Attack.Ransom in the first six months of the year 2016 , causing a loss of whopping $ 3 billion . However , the latest industry reports show a rather grim picture around Ransomware - the findings indicate that businesses in India are most at risk to cyber security attacks globally , with organizations in the country experiencing the highest number of weekly security incidents of all Asian countries surveyed ( 14.8 per cent ) . At the heart of it , Ransomware is a class of malware that ’ s designed for moneymaking with clear criminal intent . The puzzling part about Ransomware is that , no matter what the situation is , even if the ransom is paid Attack.Ransom , there is no guarantee that computer users will be able to fully access their systems ever again . The criminal may flee with the money and the files- both ! While some hackers instruct Attack.Ransom victims to pay Attack.Ransom through Bitcoin , MoneyPak or other online methods , attackers could also demand Attack.Ransom credit card data , adding another level of financial loss altogether . Cryptolocker , Petya and Dogspectus are three of the major ransomware making their presence felt strongly . Just like kidnapping for ransom Attack.Ransom , it ’ s a virtual kidnapping Attack.Ransom of data where information is kept as a hostage and money is demanded Attack.Ransom in exchange of freeing the hostage . We all know how much damage a data breach Attack.Databreach can cost- monetarily as well as reputation wise . Once a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom strikes , clicking of files yield no results . The malware has corrupted Attack.Databreach the files and converted them into foreign MP3 files or an encrypted RSA format . And then , the victim gets a note in a text file or HTML file : “ Help_Decrypt_Your_Files ” . In a majority of the cases , once ransomware enters a system , there is no way a user can remove it without losing some files or data , even if one pay the ransom Attack.Ransom . Of late , ransomware has even left behind advanced persistent threat ( APT ) network attacks to grab the numero uno spot in the list of deadliest cyber crimes . Ransomware is fast evolving in form and increasing in number as well , thereby making it more difficult to protect against it . Each version has some properties that are unique to that version alone . This is scary because what is means is , if someone finds a solution to block or erase one version of a malware , that same solution may not work for the newer versions . However , a vast number of ransomware variants are still utilizing the same type of encryption technologies to infect systems . And what ’ s more , these encryption technologies are not just limited to common ones like Tor or I2P communication , but beyond

In the wake of a weekend cyber attack , ECMC officials say the hospital ’ s IT staff discovered the virus and shut down the hospital ’ s computer network , before it could infect their files . ECMC spokesman Peter Cutler said , State Police and the FBI are investigating . “ We do know that a virus was launched into our system and the good news , again , is that we reacted to it immediately. ” With the medical center ’ s computer network still offline , ECMC is conducting business the old fashioned way , on paper—no website , no email—and Cutler says they don ’ t believe patient files were compromised Attack.Databreach in any way . “ Through the assessments that we have been running , we have seen no indication that there has been a compromise Attack.Databreach of patient health information. ” Investigators would not say how hackers attacked ECMC ’ s computers , but authorities in the field of cyber security say , this attempted intrusion has all the hallmarks of ransomware . University at Buffalo cyber security expert Arun Vishwanath says ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom have grown exponentially in the last two years , and likens them to Internet extortion Attack.Ransom . “ They are very successful , and so that is why we are seeing an exponential growth in ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom . We are talking about somewhere between 5,000 attacks per day that are reported–let alone the ones that are not even reported. ” Vishwanath says ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom are big reward low risk ventures , since the hackers are usually from other countries , and rarely get caught . Unwitting victims download an infected attachment from an email and the virus spreads quickly . “ The moment you click on the malware , this malware basically locks down your computer , and all the files in it , and any file that is connected to any other computer that you are connected to . So this can spread through your network in minutes. ” The hacker then demands Attack.Ransom the target pay a ransom Attack.Ransom to get their files unencrypted , and in just about every ransomware attack Attack.Ransom , the hackers cover their tracks by demanding payment Attack.Ransom in bitcoin–a virtual currency that is hard , if not impossible to trace . Once the ransom is paid Attack.Ransom , the hackers send their victim an electronic key to unlock their encrypted files , but if the payment is not made within a certain time frame the hacked files are lost forever .

Earlier this month , Salted Hash reported on a surge in attacks against publicly accessible MongoDB installations . Since January 3 , the day of that first report , the number of victims has climbed from about 200 databases to more than 40,000 . In addition to MongoDB , those responsible for the attacks have started targeting Elasticsearch and CouchDB . No matter the platform being targeted , the message to the victim is the same ; send a small Bitcoin payment Attack.Ransom to the listed address , or forever lose access to your files . [ Learn about top security certifications : Who they 're for , what they cost , and which you need . The problem is , some of the more recent attacks Attack.Ransom show evidence the database was erased . So even if the ransom is paid Attack.Ransom , the data is lost for good . The researchers tracking these attacks are aware of at least four individuals who delete the databases entirely after running a list command . Once deleted , they ’ ll leave Attack.Ransom the ransom note and logoff the system . So far , these individuals have used more than a dozen Bitcoin wallet addresses , and nine different email accounts . The tracking document is available on Google Docs . Only one of those victims had backups to use when the ransom payment Attack.Ransom failed . Soon , criminals started going after other development platforms , such as Elasticsearch - a Java-based search engine that 's popular in enterprise environments . Then they moved on to public facing Hadoop and CouchDB deployments .

In recent years , ransomware has become a growing concern for companies in every industry . Between April 2015 and March 2016 , the number of individuals affected by ransomware surpassed 2 million — a 17.7 % increase from the previous year . Ransomware attacks function by breaching systems , usually through infected email , and locking important files or networks until the user pays a specified amount of money . According to FBI statistics cited in a Malwarebytes report , hackers gained more than $ 209 million from ransomware payments Attack.Ransom in the first three months of 2016 , putting ransomware on track to rake in nearly $ 1 billion this year . But as a result of increased ransom-avoidance , cybercriminals have created an even more insidious threat . Imagine malware that combines ransomware with a personal data leak Attack.Databreach : this is what the latest threat , doxware , looks like . With doxware , hackers hold computers hostage Attack.Ransom until the victim pays the ransom Attack.Ransom , similar to ransomware . But doxware takes the attack further by compromising Attack.Databreach the privacy of conversations , photos , and sensitive files , and threatening to release them publicly unless the ransom is paid Attack.Ransom . Because of the threatened release , it 's harder to avoid paying the ransom Attack.Ransom , making the attack Attack.Ransom more profitable for hackers . In 2014 , Sony Pictures suffered an email phishing malware attack Attack.Phishing that released Attack.Databreach private conversations between top producers and executives discussing employees , actors , industry competitors , and future film plans , among other sensitive topics . And ransomware attacks Attack.Ransom have claimed a number of recent victims , especially healthcare systems , including MedStar Health , which suffered a major attack Attack.Ransom affecting 10 hospitals and more than 250 outpatient centers in March 2016 . Combine the data leak Attack.Databreach of Sony and the ransomware attack Attack.Ransom on MedStar and you can see the potential fallout from a doxware attack . Doxware requires strategic , end-to-end planning , which means hackers will target their victims more deliberately . Looking at the data leaked Attack.Databreach from Sony , it 's easy to imagine the catastrophic effect doxware would have on an executive of any major corporation . Company leaders hold countless conversations over email each day on sensitive topics ranging from product development to competition to internal politics , and if there 's a doxware attack , the fallout could be extensive . Expect Things to Get WorseThe technology behind doxware is still new , but expect the problem to become worse . Recent attacks have been contained to Windows desktop computers and laptops , but this will certainly change . Once the malware can infiltrate mobile devices , the threat will become even more pervasive , with text messages , photos , and data from apps at risk for being leaked Attack.Databreach . It 's also highly likely that doxware will target more types of files . Workplace emails are currently a big target for hackers . However , a company 's internal communications/instant messaging network is also appealing to hackers using doxware , as the messaging network often serves as a platform where both sensitive business discussion and casual conversations take place , potentially exposing both company secrets and personally embarrassing exchanges . One of these variants hold files ransom Attack.Ransom with the threat of release and then steals Attack.Databreach a victim 's passwords . Another mutation , Popcorn Time , takes doxware even further giving victims the option to infect two of their friends with the malware instead of paying the ransom Attack.Ransom .