Tremendous Increase in Ransomware Infection in 2016

I was reading the below article on AARP and thought I would summarize it here as I suspect more than one WA member may fall victim to the problem

AARP ARTICLE SUMMARY: http://blog.aarp.org/2016/05/06/new-threats-in-ran...

The Growing Problem of Ransomware

Apparently ransomware has had a rise of 10 fold in the first 3 months of 2016 versus 2015. Last year the estimated cost was $24M while the first 3 months of this year are over $209M. The costs are believed to be just a fraction of actual as many crimes go unreported.

To me, the scary part is that the criminals are encrypting data and developing new strains to elude security software. If your data gets encrypted and you don't have recent backups, you either pay or kiss your data good bye :( Per the AARP article, the cost typically runs $200 to $800 to get your data unlocked but sometimes much more.

The criminals, most of which appear to be based out of Europe, have also been targeting hospitals and businesses. One provided example was Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in California which paid a $17,000 ransom in bitcoins to get their data back.

Defense is Primarily Common Sense

Backups, antivirus software, and firewalls are the first line of defense. Next comes keeping your systems updated with security patches. Other suggestions included keeping pop-up blockers enabled and avoiding free screen savers and games (reputable sites excluded). The final recommendation was to go to the source when checking the status or delivery of orders rather than clicking on email links.