Week 4: The Disturbance of Ransomware

 The article I read this week talked about ransomware and how ransomware has become one of the most disruptive and expensive cyber threats today. You may be surprised by the use of the word "expensive" in this scenario, but it all makes sense when you understand the meaning of ransomware and how attackers do these types of attacks. According to CrowdStrike, Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your files and locks the owner of those files out of it entirely until you pay a sum of money. Which seems insane, not being able to access your own files is a scary thing. These sums of money are mostly paid in cryptocurrency since it is hard to trace. One might assume that there are no risks other than the fact that they are unable to access their files, but most of the time, these attackers will dump all the data collected in the ransomware attack on leak sites and get paid for it. It is also different when an individual is affected and when a major organization is attacked. Having data leaked for major corporations means their company plans, finances, and important files will not only be leaked but also inaccessible, and they are unable to do anything but have to pay. This could lead the company to fail or lose major profits. It is clear that ransomware is a very dangerous attack that puts many companies and individuals in danger, and I hope none of us gets affected by it.

Source: “What Is a Ransomware Attack?” CrowdStrike, www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/cybersecurity-101/ransomware/. Accessed 11 June 2025.

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