{"id":50602,"date":"2022-06-06T09:43:33","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T01:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/version-2.com\/?p=50602"},"modified":"2022-08-30T19:01:35","modified_gmt":"2022-08-30T11:01:35","slug":"what-are-ransomware-attacks-and-why-are-they-on-the-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/version-2.com\/en\/2022\/06\/what-are-ransomware-attacks-and-why-are-they-on-the-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"What are ransomware attacks, and why are they on the rise?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The number of cyberattacks<\/strong> increases every day. Most notably, ransomware attacks are continuously on the rise<\/strong>: not a day goes by or a new ransomware attack and data breach are mentioned in the press. But what is ransomware exactly, and which types are there? How do these ransomware attacks happen, and what can you do to prevent them? In this blog post, we\u2019ll formulate an answer to all of these questions.<\/p>\n

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A ransomware payment request – that’s one message you don’t<\/strong> want to see.<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n

What are ransomware attacks?<\/h2>\n

\nRansomware is a type of malicious software (malware), that is used by cybercriminals to encrypt a (portion of a) device\u2019s data, rendering it no longer accessible. To regain access, criminals will demand a big ransom payment before they will give the decryption key or deactivate the lock screen. But, of course, it\u2019s better to mitigate your chances of getting attacked to begin with \u2013 rather than paying the ransom.\n\nTo put more pressure on the victims regarding the ransom demand, the hackers can use specific ransomware software to not only encrypt files but also search for sensitive data and send this information back to the hacker. During this type of malware attack, ransomware groups often spend much time unnoticed in the operating system, while searching for the most valuable data to exploit. If organizations then do not want to pay the ransom, the malware attacker often threatens to publish the stolen data online, which has disastrous consequences.\n<\/p>\n

Who are ransomware attack targets?<\/h2>\n

In general, anyone can become the target of ransomware attacks. However, looking at the most recent data breaches in 2022 alone, it\u2019s clear that hackers will focus on organizations that work with a lot of personal files and sensitive data, big user groups, and possibly smaller IT teams (such as in education or healthcare). Furthermore, they also tend to target industrial players as disruptions in their IT processes pose prominent problems for the company\u2019s supply chain.<\/p>\n

Which types of ransomware attacks are there?<\/h2>\n

A wide range of ransomware variants are being used, but let\u2019s take a look at the most common ones:<\/p>\n