SymmetricalDataSecurity: The Many Faces of Ransomware

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The Many Faces of Ransomware

Ransomware has been around for awhile now, but only in 2016 did it start becoming a “household” name and featured in the news. With its big debut also comes evolution – ransomware comes in many different shapes, sizes and families.

As the season of evil witches, ghosts, goblins, and ghouls approaches, it’s time to be on guard. But security managers face scary prospects year-round, especially as new strains of ransomware escalate. And ransomware variants are getting more pervasive – and creepier – than ever.

The FBI says that from Jan. 1, 2016 to June 30, 1,308 ransomware complaints have been reported, totaling $2,685,274 in losses.

And it appears that the ransomware “business” will continue to grow for cybercriminals. Ed Cabrera, chief cybersecurity officer at Trend Micro, says his research team tracked 29 ransomware families last year, and this year is on pace to track well more than 100 variants.

To learn more about these different families of ransomware, click here.