Ransomware Becoming a Pandemic

Ransomware is getting more dangerous and costly according to a report by Symantec.

The trend is not slowing down. The crypto criminals are not only targeting individuals, but also companies. The average ransom in 2015 was $294 but has soared to $679 currently. And it is a global pandemic with 51 percent of victims in the U.S. and the remainder in Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, U.K., Canada, Belgium, India, and Australia.

“The perfection of the ransomware business model has created a gold-rush mentality among attackers, as growing numbers seek to cash in. Infection numbers are trending upwards, with the number of new ransomware families discovered annually reaching an all-time high of 100 in 2015,” said the authors of Symantec’s report.

The researchers expect to see ransomware move beyond laptops and computers and start infecting other IoT devices. In a recent report, ransomware has been seen infecting a smart TV.

“One worrying potential target is industrial control systems (ICS). There have already been examples of malware attacks against ICS devices, the most famous of which was Stuxnet,” the researchers added. “Given the recent emergence of targeted ransomware attacks and the potential for disruption that an ICS attack could cause, it may only be a matter of time before attackers shift their attention to this arena.”

Source: Yahoo