Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Second US town pays up to ransomware hackers
Ransomware is a malicious computer software
that threatens to destroy someone’s files, systems, or even reputation unless a
demanded ransom is paid. If not paid, the ransom goes up, or the threatened
files or systems are encrypted so that the victim cannot use or access the data
or use the system. At that point, the victim has only three choices, to pay the
inflated ransom with a hope to bring the files and system back to life, to
restore them from the backup only is such backup had been made, or to give up
and rebuild everything from scratch.
Where there are risks, there also are
insurance businesses. Cyber insurance is designed to help organizations to
relieve or reduce risk exposure by offsetting costs for recovery after a cybersecurity breach. When a small town in Florida suffered downed computer systems
for two weeks, they decided to have their cyber insurance company pay the ransom.
The good news is the system came back to life after the payment was made and the
cost was covered by the insurance. The bad news is that their insurance premium
will go up unless they build a bullet-proof security system that convinces the insurer
that future risk is lowered.
To avoid such disaster, never open attachment
or links in unsolicited emails. Make sure to update your computer system. Keep
backup files on an external drive or cloud service. Remember, every time a
ransom is paid, it finances the attacker to be more demanding, malicious, and sophisticated.
Enjoy reading the article and learn what
ransomware attack is about.
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